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Steve Victory JOURNAL - NCT 2021
Victory’s pretty upbeat at the Final Four festivities in Atlanta despite his team’s disappointing finish. He still gets plenty of pats on the back from his peers for the Tide’s 2019 championship run. “That was one fine tournament your boys had – one of the best on record,” the conversations typically go. “With those two hot-shot recruits you’re bringing in next year, you should be right back in contention to get here again.”
That helps this season’s tough finish go down easier. Folks are grumbling back home, but on the national scene, his overall work is well-regarded.
One athletic director that seems to pay extra attention to Victory during the typical coach and administrator hobnobbing is Derrick Whittenburg, once the famed guard who threw the pass that led to the dunk that gave NC State its miracle NCT victory over Houston in ’83. Whittenburg is now the Wolfpack’s athletic director in charge of basketball operations.
“Mr. Victory, I want to level with you. We’d like to talk to you about being our next basketball coach at NC State,” Whittenburg says over drinks in the hotel a few hours before the NCT championship game.
Victory nearly spits his wine all over the carpet. He literally can’t speak for at least a minute, turning as red as a Wolfpack road jersey. “Are you serious?” he finally manages to blurt out.
“You bet. I know you’ve got your detractors in Alabama and you’ve had some up-and-down times, but we think you’ll be a great fit with the Wolfpack. We kind of like having a Coach V around in Raleigh.”
Victory is floored (and glad he didn’t sign on with Clemson or Georgia Tech the year before). N.C. State! The school that gave the hoops world David Thompson, Thurl Bailey, Tommy Burleson, the dethroning of UCLA in 1974, the Cardiac Pack of 1983, Jim Valvano’s frantic search for someone to hug, Everett Case, Reynolds Coliseum, parties on Hillsborough Street. Amazing – a pillar of the ACC, the greatest hoops conference ever, wants him.
How can he say no? Yes, his ‘Bama team is bound to be an NCT contender next season, but an opportunity like this only comes around once in a lifetime!! He signs an agreement with Whittenburg – ironically enough on a napkin right there in the bar – and goes on to watch Illinois topple Mississippi State in the NCT title game. Victory winks at The Sheriff as he passes him in the lobby, and the famed tabloid journalist immediately knows something is up…
The news hits Tuscaloosa by late Tuesday afternoon. Victory is introduced in Raleigh as the next coach of the Wolfpack around lunchtime on Wednesday. By Friday night, Charles Barkley is being ushered in as the next coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide (thanks for the idea Astros – I downloaded his picture from the Web and put him in the game!!!)
What a whirlwind of a week! A new chapter in the life and times of Steve Victory is set to begin… Season number 19 overall. Season number one in the ACC…
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