North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State's 2014 Hall of Fame Class: Dick Dickey
9/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 3, 2014
RALEIGH, N.C. - Once voted one of the top five most valuable basketball players ever to lace up a pair of shoes at North Carolina State, the late Dick Dickey will be inducted posthumously into the University’s third Hall of Athletic Fame Class of 2014.
A native of Rigdon, Indiana, Dickey follows his legendary coach Everett Case into the Hall.
Dickey, at 5-foot-9, graduated from Pendleton High School in 1944 as a local prep star prior to entering the Navy in World War II. Both Dickey and Case were Indiana thoroughbreds – born in Madison County and entrenched in Hoosier basketball.
Case, whose teams had won four Indiana state championships (1925, ’29, ’36, ’39), moved into the military -- coaching the California Navy Pre-Flight team upon which Dickey performed.
After the war, Case took the NC State job and persuaded Dickey, who had grown four inches, to enroll along with a host of other blue-chip recruits called the “Indiana Hotshots”.
That 10-player class included future coaching stalwarts Norm Sloan and Vic Bubas, and was the foundation of The Old Gray Fox’s elite program which propelled its way into the upper echelon of college basketball.
“When I first got to Raleigh, there wasn’t much activity,” Dickey stated in a 2002 interview. “It was just after the war and people didn’t care about basketball that much. Plus we were all new. Nobody recognized anyone.”
That would change rather quickly as Case developed magical team chemistry around his talented Red Terrors, who raced to the top of the Southern Conference during his college tenure.
With his flashy style, Dickey, introduced the one-hand running jump shot to the college game, and finished an illustrious career by scoring 1,644 points – now eighth on the all-time Wolfpack scoring list.
He averaged 13.4 points per game and made All-Southern Conference teams four consecutive years (1947, ’48, ’49, ’50) – the only Pack player ever to accomplish that feat. Dickey was also only one of three players in school history to make All-America three successive times (1948, ’49, ’50).
The Indiana native was instrumental in leading the Pack to an overall record of 106-23 (26-5, 28-4, 25-8, 27-6).
In Case’s inaugural Dixie Classic Holiday Tournament in 1949, Dickey was named the most valuable player.
When Case’s Wolfpack jumped upon the national stage in 1950, winning the East Regionals and reaching the Final Four, Dickey made his presence known. He was selected on the All-East Regionals and All-Final Four teams.
The 1950 Wolfpack team finished third in the country and lost to eventual champion CCNY, 78-73. State beat Baylor 53-41 in the consolation game.
After a Pack victory in the quarterfinals, Dickey and company followed an Indiana tradition by cutting down the nets – a rite of passage now entrenched in NCAA league and tournament basketball.
Dickey, whose jersey number 70 was retired, also ranks fifth in career free throws – having made 462 out of 710 attempts in the old underhand style.
The Baltimore Bullets made Dickey the first State basketball player ever taken in the NBA draft – the 25th selection in 1950. He became a pro journeyman and eventually played briefly for the Boston Celtics.
In 2005, Dickey was inducted into the Indiana College Basketball Hall of Fame prior to his passing on July 3, 2006 at age 79. He was survived by wife Jean and seven children.
Jim Crosley, a long-time resident of Pendleton, Indiana, remembered Dickey performing on the prep basketball court. Dickey played under coach Art Gross and was an All-Sectional selection during his senior season.
“I watched him while I was growing up and remember how smart of a ball player he was. Back then small schools didn’t get a lot of write ups that big schools did (adding that Pendleton High only averaged 180 students). Dick proved that he was worth it.”
Employed in the insurance business at Farm Bureau for 29 years, Dickey also scouted prep talent for Coach Norm Sloan in the 1960s and ‘70s. He had a sharp eye for budding talent.
After Sloan disdained a Dickey prospect named John Mengelt, who later became a star in the SEC at Auburn and was once named player of the year, the State coach became more receptive to his former roommate’s recommendations.
“The next call (recommendation) Richard made to coach Sloan was about me,” noted Monte Towe, the 5-foot-7 sparkplug point guard of the 1974 NCAA title team. “The story goes that during their first conversation, Sloan asked (Dickey), ‘How tall is he?’
“Richard would say that I was a great passer, that I could defend,” continued Towe. “But he never would tell coach Sloan that I was 5-foot-7.”
Laughing, Towe continued, “By that time he (Sloan) wasn’t going to challenge Richard.”
Sold on Towe’s skills and tenacity, Dickey personally drove the Indiana prep star down to Raleigh on his recruiting visit.
The cocky little point guard knew little about NC State.
“I knew it was the ACC, but I was wrapped up in the Big Ten, and Marquette had great teams then, too,” Towe recalled.
Dickey, who graduated with a degree in Agricultural and Life Sciences, always remained close to the Pack program, especially when Sloan coached the team.
“I’m not so sure than anybody in the world loved NC State more than Richard,” emphasized Towe.
“Richard was always a very humble person. Very happy, especially if he was going to watch a basketball game. You come across special people in your life and Richard was certainly one of them.”
Quotes credited to The Herald Bulletin - Story by George Cox
Purchase tickets | 2014 Hall of Fame Class
RALEIGH, N.C. - Once voted one of the top five most valuable basketball players ever to lace up a pair of shoes at North Carolina State, the late Dick Dickey will be inducted posthumously into the University’s third Hall of Athletic Fame Class of 2014.
A native of Rigdon, Indiana, Dickey follows his legendary coach Everett Case into the Hall.
Dickey, at 5-foot-9, graduated from Pendleton High School in 1944 as a local prep star prior to entering the Navy in World War II. Both Dickey and Case were Indiana thoroughbreds – born in Madison County and entrenched in Hoosier basketball.
Case, whose teams had won four Indiana state championships (1925, ’29, ’36, ’39), moved into the military -- coaching the California Navy Pre-Flight team upon which Dickey performed.
After the war, Case took the NC State job and persuaded Dickey, who had grown four inches, to enroll along with a host of other blue-chip recruits called the “Indiana Hotshots”.
That 10-player class included future coaching stalwarts Norm Sloan and Vic Bubas, and was the foundation of The Old Gray Fox’s elite program which propelled its way into the upper echelon of college basketball.
“When I first got to Raleigh, there wasn’t much activity,” Dickey stated in a 2002 interview. “It was just after the war and people didn’t care about basketball that much. Plus we were all new. Nobody recognized anyone.”
That would change rather quickly as Case developed magical team chemistry around his talented Red Terrors, who raced to the top of the Southern Conference during his college tenure.
With his flashy style, Dickey, introduced the one-hand running jump shot to the college game, and finished an illustrious career by scoring 1,644 points – now eighth on the all-time Wolfpack scoring list.
He averaged 13.4 points per game and made All-Southern Conference teams four consecutive years (1947, ’48, ’49, ’50) – the only Pack player ever to accomplish that feat. Dickey was also only one of three players in school history to make All-America three successive times (1948, ’49, ’50).
The Indiana native was instrumental in leading the Pack to an overall record of 106-23 (26-5, 28-4, 25-8, 27-6).
In Case’s inaugural Dixie Classic Holiday Tournament in 1949, Dickey was named the most valuable player.
When Case’s Wolfpack jumped upon the national stage in 1950, winning the East Regionals and reaching the Final Four, Dickey made his presence known. He was selected on the All-East Regionals and All-Final Four teams.
The 1950 Wolfpack team finished third in the country and lost to eventual champion CCNY, 78-73. State beat Baylor 53-41 in the consolation game.
After a Pack victory in the quarterfinals, Dickey and company followed an Indiana tradition by cutting down the nets – a rite of passage now entrenched in NCAA league and tournament basketball.
Dickey, whose jersey number 70 was retired, also ranks fifth in career free throws – having made 462 out of 710 attempts in the old underhand style.
The Baltimore Bullets made Dickey the first State basketball player ever taken in the NBA draft – the 25th selection in 1950. He became a pro journeyman and eventually played briefly for the Boston Celtics.
In 2005, Dickey was inducted into the Indiana College Basketball Hall of Fame prior to his passing on July 3, 2006 at age 79. He was survived by wife Jean and seven children.
Jim Crosley, a long-time resident of Pendleton, Indiana, remembered Dickey performing on the prep basketball court. Dickey played under coach Art Gross and was an All-Sectional selection during his senior season.
“I watched him while I was growing up and remember how smart of a ball player he was. Back then small schools didn’t get a lot of write ups that big schools did (adding that Pendleton High only averaged 180 students). Dick proved that he was worth it.”
Employed in the insurance business at Farm Bureau for 29 years, Dickey also scouted prep talent for Coach Norm Sloan in the 1960s and ‘70s. He had a sharp eye for budding talent.
After Sloan disdained a Dickey prospect named John Mengelt, who later became a star in the SEC at Auburn and was once named player of the year, the State coach became more receptive to his former roommate’s recommendations.
“The next call (recommendation) Richard made to coach Sloan was about me,” noted Monte Towe, the 5-foot-7 sparkplug point guard of the 1974 NCAA title team. “The story goes that during their first conversation, Sloan asked (Dickey), ‘How tall is he?’
“Richard would say that I was a great passer, that I could defend,” continued Towe. “But he never would tell coach Sloan that I was 5-foot-7.”
Laughing, Towe continued, “By that time he (Sloan) wasn’t going to challenge Richard.”
Sold on Towe’s skills and tenacity, Dickey personally drove the Indiana prep star down to Raleigh on his recruiting visit.
The cocky little point guard knew little about NC State.
“I knew it was the ACC, but I was wrapped up in the Big Ten, and Marquette had great teams then, too,” Towe recalled.
Dickey, who graduated with a degree in Agricultural and Life Sciences, always remained close to the Pack program, especially when Sloan coached the team.
“I’m not so sure than anybody in the world loved NC State more than Richard,” emphasized Towe.
“Richard was always a very humble person. Very happy, especially if he was going to watch a basketball game. You come across special people in your life and Richard was certainly one of them.”
Quotes credited to The Herald Bulletin - Story by George Cox
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