The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/592698
146 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PAST engineering degree. He served as cap- tain of the Wolfpack's 1956 conference championship team. His son Tommy was a member of Jim Valvano's 1983 ACC and NCAA championship squad. "Growing up, I idolized my father," said the younger DiNardo, who played two years at Louisburg College, spent a year as a student at NC State and then won a roster spot in the fall of 1982 in a campus-wide tryout. "As a kid, I wanted to be just like him. Being able to play at NC State and get my engineering degree there was a dream come true." Bill and Billy Kretzer of Greensboro also played at NC State. The elder Kretzer played for Press Maravich and Norm Sloan, and is most famous in NC State lore for being the guy who dribbled nonstop for 13 minutes and 45 seconds at the top of the key during the Wolfpack's 12-10 win over Duke in the 1968 ACC Tournament semi- finals. The only time he passed during that entire contest was when his arm got tired. The younger Kretzer played for three years under head coach Les Robinson, who had also served as Bill Sr.'s freshman coach during the 1964-65 season. "My first game as a freshman coach in 1965 had Bill Kretzer in the starting lineup," Robinson said. "My last game as head coach in 1996 in the second round of the ACC Tournament had Billy Kretzer on the team. "It was an interesting way to close out my coaching career." Mike Sloan was a manager for his dad, Wolfpack head coach Norm Sloan, during the 1974 ACC and NCAA championship season, though he never suited up. And, of course, forward Tony Warren played for Sloan in the 1970s and his son T.J. Warren was the 2014 ACC Player of the Year under Gottfried, who likes to pro- mote the heritage of Wolfpack basketball through his outreach to former players and their families. For the Corchianis, it's been a nice shared history, something they can look back on in years to come with fondness without men- tion of the god-awful Nike unitard the elder Corchiani once wore during his junior year or the unfortunate incident when Chris Sr. and Tom Gugliotta were thrown out of PNC Arena for heckling official Karl Hess. Chris Jr. was at that game, sitting in the family's regular seats, and watched as his father and another honored jersey star were escorted from the building. He thought the whole situation was hysterical. "That's just the way my dad is," the younger Corchiani said. "He can be a little fiery." Yep, he's always been that way. ■ Tim Peeler, author of the newly released Legends of NC State Basketball, is a regular contributor to The Wolf- packer and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. T.J. Warren (above), the 2014 ACC Player of the Year, is the son of Tony Warren, who played for the Pack from 1977‑79. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN