Legendary N.C. State basketball coach Norm Sloan passed away yesterday. Lots of comments today about his life.
He coached an N.C. State with David Thompson and Tommy Burleson to a national title in 1974 and provided a spark to the N.C. State-Carolina rivalry.
Even Dean Smith’s comments on Sloan still hint of the sting. No mention of “he was a good friend,” or “what a great guy,” Dean only mentions Norm’s coaching ability:
“What a great coach Norm Sloan was,” Smith said Tuesday. “Believe me, they were our main rivals when he was at N.C. State. His teams played extremely hard.
“He was such a competitor. He passed that on to his players. They played hard, but they played smart, too.”
Sloan obviously did a lot for N.C. State, but he also did a great deal for ACC basketball, too. The Wolfpack faithful owe a lot to him.