Norm Sloan Dies at 77
12/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2003
By Tony Haynes and NC State Media Relations
Raleigh, N.C.-Norm Sloan, who coached NC State to the 1974 NCAA basketball championship, died at Duke Hospital on Tuesday morning at the age of 77. Sloan first came to NC State during the Everett Case glory years of the late 1940s and was a solid performer for the Wolfpack football and basketball teams. However, Sloan made his greatest contributions to NC State decades later as head coach during the school's most successful period of championship basketball.
Sloan's daughter, Leslie Nicholls, told the Associated Press that her father died of "Pulmonary Fibrosis of the lungs."
"Coach Sloan was a wonderful friend, a loyal supporter and a wise mentor for me," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "I really treasured the time that we had together and enjoyed the basketball talks that we shared. He would stop by practices and we would talk afterwards. He would come by the office, I'd shut the door and we would talk about our team or basketball in general. I enjoyed listening to some of his stories. I was very fortunate to get to know coach Sloan over the last several years."
Sloan came to NC State from the University of Florida after Press Maravich left Raleigh to become head coach at LSU. Sloan, who had led the Gators to an 85-63 record in six seasons in Gainesville, battled through a difficult 7-19 campaign in 1966-67 before turning the program around.
The 1968 Wolfpack went 16-10 overall, 9-5 in the conference, and reached the finals of the ACC Tournament, winning NC State's first conference championship in five years. Shortly after the '70 championship, Sloan recruited a talented unit that soon made history. Led by All-Americans David Thompson, Tommy Burleson and Monte Towe, the Wolfpack went 27-0 in 1972-73 and 30-1 in 1973-74, ending UCLA's college basketball dynasty by winning the 1974 national title. The peerless David Thompson, arguably the greatest player in ACC history, was named college basketball's national Player of the Year in 1974 and '75.
""We have lost a great warrior," Towe said on Tuesday. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't apply something that I learned from Coach Sloan in a positive way to my personal life and my teaching of basketball. He has touched a lot of great people in a great way and he will be missed. We love him and we love his family."
In his years at NC State, the man known as Stormin' Norman for his intense sideline style fashioned a 266-127 record, good for a .677 winning percentage. His teams won three ACC championships and the 1974 national title. His 1973 and 1974 teams combined for a 57-1 record, won 32 consecutive games over ACC teams and had overall winning streaks of 29 and 36 games.
In Sloan's final season at NC State in 1980, the Wolfpack fashioned a 20-8 record. He then went on to finish his coaching career with a second stint at the University of Florida before returning to Raleigh, where he was living at the time of his death.
In recent years, he had become a fixture at Wolfpack practices and had developed a strong relationship with Sendek. Sloan was among a group of former players and coaches who were honored during the annual Red/White Basketball game at the RBC Center back on November 1.
"Coach Sloan was a great gentleman and a great coach," said NC State Athletics Director Lee Fowler. "I had gotten to know him the last few years when he would drop by to say hello. I just saw him about three weeks ago at one of our practices. He was one of the all-time greatest coaches in college basketball. We've lost a Wolfpack legend and he will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family."
Said ACC Commissioner John Swofford: "The collegiate sports world, the Atlantic Coast Conference and North Carolina State University lost a legend today with the passing of Norm Sloan. As a player and a coach at NC State, Norm was a pioneer for the development of ACC Basketball.? He played a pivotal role in the history and tradition of this league and will be remembered for his accomplishments on and off the court. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Sloan family."
Norm Sloan Bio
At NC State: 266-127 (.677), 13 years (1967-80)
Overall: 624-393 (.614), 37 years
Alma Mater: NC State '51
Wolfpack Letterman: 1947-48-49 (basketball), 1950 (football)
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
Born: June 25, 1926