One Shining Moment

On Monday night, April 4, 1983, I went to the Greensboro (NC) home of my friends Bob & Beth (Vestal) McGalliard to watch the NCAA basketball championship game with a group of my friends.  The game would feature North Carolina State University and the University of Houston.  Houston was a huge favorite, but our little group gathered to pull for the Wolfpack of NCSU.  Having grown up in NC, college basketball was almost a religion to us.  I was a UNC Tar Heel fan myself, but when it came to national events I always pulled for the ACC.  Pulling for State was not easy; in 1983 Duke was still pretty much irrelevant, so the Wolfpack were our arch rivals.  There was even a little cheer- "Duke is puke, Wake (Forest) is fake but the team I hate is NC State!"  But they had been amazing in the tournament and had reached the final game against all expectations.  The McGalliard family were huge State fans; in fact, Bob and his father had gone to Albuquerque for the game.  We went to support Beth and to cheer them on.


The game was amazing.  Somehow the Wolfpack hung tough with Phi Slamma Jamma, and the game came down to one final possession.  Here's how it ended...





Everyone watching was stunned.  Lorenzo Charles jamming home the missed shot.  Coach Jimmy Valvano running around The Pit looking for someone to hug.  The vaunted Houston team in total disbelief.  It was one of those moments I will never forget.  And the fact that the hero was Lorenzo Charles made it all the more miraculous.  He was, at best, the 6th best scoring threat on that NCSU team.  He was there to rebound and play defense.  If Vegas had odds on which player would make a game winning shot,the odds on Lo had to be 500,000 to 1.  And yet... as one of the greatest big men in NCAA history (Hakeem Olajuwon) stood and watched, #43 grabbed a small slice of sports immortality.  He would go on to become a star player over the following 2 years and a high NBA draft pick as well.  In all the many years that CBS has used One Shining Moment as their end of tournament "magic memories" song, it has never been more appropriate than that night.


Lorenzo Charles was killed in a bus wreck this week, and everyone who remembers that night the way I do felt his loss.  I had no idea what had happened to Lo since his NBA career failed.  But his example has always had an influence on me.  Work hard, put yourself in the right position surrounded by the right people, never give up- and magical, miraculous things can happen.  When Jimmy V died of cancer a number of years later he gave a famous speech in which he encouraged each of us to "never give up."  Now that Lo has gone on to join Coach V, teammate Thurl Bailey has been quoted as saying this- "Looks like Coach V finally found somebody to hug."  Rest in peace, Lo.  Thanks for giving sports fans everywhere a moment in time that we will never forget- and for raising this important question in our own lives. If I were to die tomorrow, what would be seen as my One Shining Moment?  It is something to ponder...


Because of Jesus,