A Day 33 Years in the Making, Recapping the Pack's White House Visit

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"It was surreal."

That seemed to be the sentiment of almost every member of the Wolfpack group that visited President Obama at the White House on Monday morning. The visit, which had been a dream for the members of the NC State men's basketball squad that won the 1983 national title, took 33 years to happen, but to a man each agreed that it was definitely worth the wait.

The day began in the lobby of a D.C. hotel a few blocks from the White House with the loud call of "Listen up, y'all!" from Jim Rehbock, the team's athletic trainer who quickly fell back into his old role of getting the team where it needed to be at the proper time.

After stopping for a few group photos in front of the White House's north side, the group was cleared through the security gate and entered the Eisenhower executive office building. The group was escorted to the ornate Indian Treaty Room, which boasts marble walls, tiled floors, 800-lb. bronze sconces and gold leaf ornamentation.

There, the group was visited by Gregory C. Simon, Executive Director of the Cancer Taskforce who spoke about Vice President Joe Biden's "Moonshot" Cancer initiative to accelerate cancer research.

"We're trying to make 10 years of progress in five years," Simon told the group, which included Jim Valvano's widow Pam Valvano Strasser and his daughters Nicole, Jamie and Lee Ann.

Following the briefing with Simon, the Pack made its way into the White House, walking in front of the South Portico into the executive mansion. The team members and their guests had plenty of time to wander through the China Room, which displays the official White House place settings of presidents dating back to George Washington. The group also toured the Library and the Vermeil Room on the ground floor, and then through several rooms on the first floor, including the Red Room, the Blue Room and the Green Room. Several of the former ball players had to sit down on the ornate chairs and benches to rest tired knees.

After many photos and even more laughter, Senator Orrin Hatch came in and greeted each member of the group with a hug … not a handshake, an actual hug.

Finally, it was time to gather in the East Room. The former players, Thurl Bailey, Sidney Lowe, Dereck Whittenburg, Ernie Myers, Cozell McQueen, George McClain, Harold Thompson, Terry Gannon, Mike Warren, Walt Densmore and Alvin Battle, as well as eighth-grader Quinton Leonard, Jr., son of the late Quinton Leonard, who was there representing his father, gathered on risers in the center of the room.

There they were joined by former assistant coaches Ray Martin, Tom Abatemarco and Gary Bryant, who served as a student manager, Max Perry, who was a graduate assistant coach, Rehbock, the Valvano family and beloved Beverly Sparks, who was Valvano's secretary and a surrogate mother to most of the team during their days in Raleigh.

The guests, which included wives, mothers and daughters, were seated to the side and after members of the White House press corps were ushered in, President Obama and Biden strolled into the room. "You guys look like you could still ball a little bit," The President laughed as he greeted the team.

"So this has been a long time coming, hasn't it," Obama asked, shaking each person's hand. He asked why the team hadn't come back in 1983 and Terry Gannon recounted the story.

"All of us remember that game – one of the greatest college games of all time," Obama then told the group. "That image of Coach Valvano running through the court is still one that is seared in everybody's memory."

After shooting a photo with the group, Obama added, "Sorry I'm not wearing red."

Bailey answered, "We can fix that, Mr. President,' and presented him with a Wolfpack jersey with No. 1 and OBAMA on the back. Obama discussed the age-old "shot or pass" question, and told the team he enjoyed watching them "bluster' in the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary, "Survive and Advance."

Obama then came and greeted each one of the player's guests individually and posed for photos with them as well. After thanking the group for coming, the President left, but Biden stayed for a while and visited with many in the group.

Before the visit was over, Bailey, Lowe and Whittenburg met the media outside the West Wing. When asked how finally getting to the White House 33 years after winning the National Title was different than it would have been in 1983, Lowe, a former Wolfpack head coach, said "The most special thing about today was that we were able to experience it with our families."

"It was just a fantastic, fantastic day," Bailey concluded.

"All of us remember that game."
33 years later, @POTUS honors the 1983 @NCState basketball champs.https://t.co/5VxhGuAx8o
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 9, 2016

A Day 33 Years in the Making, Recapping the Pack's White House Visit

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