The Wolfpacker

30 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER T he day after his calendar switched over to 1954, a tiny point guard from Philadelphia wandered over to the Palestra with a few friends to watch Villanova play against a Southern college basketball powerhouse. The kid wanted to see if his hometown team could beat one of the best teams in the nation. Little did he know that cold January evening would be his first brush with the school he would play for, support and love for nearly six decades. All Lou Pucillo knew about NC State College was that Philadelphia-native Phil DiNardo was on the team and that it was coached by the legendary Everett Case, the former Indiana high school coach who had built a top-10 program down in North Carolina. What he saw that night was a pair of sophomores, named Ronnie Shavlik and Vic Molodet, who played with senior Mel Thompson to earn a hard-fought win over the Wildcats, 69-65. It was hard for the young Pucillo, who hadn't even made his high school basketball team as a junior and was a little-used reserve as a senior, to believe that he would ever head south and become a diligent student, a well-decorated athlete and a successful businessman. Besides, he didn't exactly play the kind of basketball Case embraced. Pucillo was a flashy, pass-behind-the-back, up-and- down-the-court player in the mold of Bob Cousy. At 5-9, he was also shorter than any player Case had ever recruited. But assistant coach Vic Bubas saw Pucillo play while at a postsecondary prep school and convinced Case that he had found the Wolfpack's point guard of the future. "I am astounded nearly 60 years later that I ever got to play for Case, much less be considered one of his finest players," Pucillo said. "Those teams were so great, and those players, like Ronnie Shavlik and Vic Molodet, set such a high standard for themselves and for the team. "It is such an honor to join the likes of Coach Case, who I worked for as a fresh- man coach, and Shavlik, who was my ath- letic and business hero." The 77-year-old Pucillo is one of 10 new members of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame, chosen by the election committee in early April. When the class is inducted on Friday, Oct. 10, and recognized the next day at halftime of the NC State-Boston College game, Pucillo will become the old- est living inductee into the hall, which will have a total of 30 members after three con- secutive 10-member classes. Next year, the rules for election will change, with a maximum number of six inductees in any given year, with no more than one coach or special contributor. And in 2016, thanks to the planned renovations of historic Reynolds Coliseum, the Hall of Fame will have a permanent home in the lobby of the hallowed arena. Pucillo's story of success at NC State is one of many in a class that features its earliest athlete, 1920s multisport star Jack McDowall, two additional posthumous in- ductees, basketball player Dick Dickey and football lineman Dennis Byrd, and former baseball coach Sam Esposito, the first non- revenue coach to earn a spot in the three- year-old hall. Other new members are former swim- ming All-American and two-time Olym- pic gold medalist Steve Rerych, women's basketball player Chasity Melvin, football player/track star Danny Peebles, women's soccer star Charmaine Hooper and long- time Wolfpack Club supporter and NC State board of trustees member Wendell Murphy. Murphy, namesake of the Wolfpack's football operation center at Carter-Finley Stadium, is the first non-athlete or coach to earn entry into the hall, thanks not only to his financial support, but also his leader- ship as chair of the school's trustees and as a state legislator in more than a half century after his graduation from NC State with a degree in agricultural education. The Rose Hill, N.C., native made his fortune as the world's largest pork producer before selling the $1 billion family busi- ness to Smithfield Farms in 2000. He has been a stalwart Wolfpack fan since before his graduation, traveling from his home to most all home and away football and basketball games and to serve the univer- sity he loves. As a state senator, he helped secure state funding for PNC Arena, which opened in 1999. "I am no fair-weather fan," Murphy 2014 NC State Athletic Hall of Fame Class Dennis Byrd, Football (1964-67) Dick Dickey, Men's Basketball (1946-50) Sam Esposito, Baseball Coach (1967-87) Charmaine Hooper, Women's Soccer (1987-90) Jack McDowell, Football/Basketball/Track (1926-29) Chasity Melvin, Women's Basketball (1995-98) Wendell Murphy, Special Contributor Danny Peebles, Track & Field/Football (1984-88) Lou Pucillo, Men's Basketball (1957-59) Dr. Steve Rerych, Men's Swimming (1964-68) HONORING WOLFPACK LEGENDS Ten More Are Chosen For The NC State Athletic Hall Of Fame A basketball player for the Pack from 1957- 59, Lou Pucillo, who is now 77 years old, will become the oldest living inductee into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS 30-31.Wolfpack Hall Of Fame.indd 30 4/29/14 3:25 PM

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