The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII last night, giving former NC State All-American Offensive Lineman Joe Thuney his second Super Bowl ring.

Thuney made NFL history last night, becoming the first player to start in 3 Super Bowls in their first 3 seasons.

He has been a rock of consistency at offensive guard for the Pats ever since they drafted him in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft, starting every single game since day one…51 straight games.

Thuney joins Mike Cofer and Perry Williams as the only players in NC State history to win 2 Super Bowls.

Joe Thuney – LI & LIII – Offensive Guard – New England Patriots
Mike Cofer – XXIII & XXIV – Kicker – San Francisco 49ers
Perry Williams – XXI & XXV – Cornerback – New York Giants

His 3 Super Bowl appearances are the 2nd most in NC State history.

Jim Ritcher – 4
Joe Thuney – 3
Mike Cofer – 2
Perry Williams – 2
Mike Jones – 2
Torry Holt – 2
Russell Wilson – 2
J.R. Sweezy – 2
Steven Hauschka – 2
(Bill Cowher – 2 – as a head coach)

Dennis Smith Jr., former NC State ACC Freshman of the Year, has officially been traded to the New York Knicks.

The team has acquired guard Dennis Smith Jr., center DeAndre Jordan, guard/forward Wesley Matthews and two future first round draft picks from Dallas in exchange for forward Kristaps Porzingis, and guards Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee.

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 31, 2019

It’s fitting that Smith landed in New York, considering he just dropped his 2nd career triple-double in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

13 PTS. Career-high 15 AST. 10 REB.

In the @dallasmavs win. @Dennis1SmithJr becomes the 2nd youngest player to record a triple-double at the current Madison Square Garden (Magic Johnson)! #MFFL pic.twitter.com/cou3PeFj0d

— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2019

After it was all said and done, the Knicks will have roughly $71 million in salary cap space heading into the summer, which could pay two max salary players to package with Dennis.

Top targets: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard.

The buzz around Durant has been that New York might be his most likely destination.

Through 101 games over the past two seasons with the Mavericks, Smith finished his time there averaging 14.5 points and 4.9 assists.

Former NC State Wide Receiver Alvis Whitted has been named the Wide Receivers Coach for the Green Bay Packers.

#Packers name Alvis Whitted wide receivers coach 📰https://t.co/PAPsC4J4o0

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 30, 2019

Whitted has spent the past 9 seasons as the Wide Receivers Coach at Colorado State, developing 3 All-Americans in that span (Michael Gallup, Rashard Higgins, and Preston Williams).

Prior to becoming a coach, Whitted spent 9 years as a wide receiver himself in the NFL, spending 4 years with the Jacksonville Jaguars (who drafted him in the 7th round of the 1998 NFL Draft, with the 192nd overall pick), and 5 with the Oakland Raiders.

He finished his NFL career with 74 receptions for 1,030 yards and 6 touchdowns.

At NC State, Whitted compiled 29 receptions for 461 yards.

Former NC State Guard Nate McMillan became the 26th coach in NBA history to win 600 regular season games this week.

Congratulations to @Pacers Head Coach Nate McMillan on becoming the 26th coach in @NBA history to win 600 games! pic.twitter.com/TJqhPYAMaC

— NBA Coaches Assoc. (@NBA_Coaches) January 24, 2019

McMillan played 2 years at NC State, and was a captain for the 1985-86 squad. Despite only 2 years worth of stats, McMillan ranks 9th all-time in assists, and ranks 5th in assist-to-turnover ratio.

In 1986, McMillan was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 30th pick in the 2nd round.

McMillan played 12 seasons in the NBA, all for Seattle. He ranks 2nd all-time in assists in SuperSonics history. Seattle retired his #10 jersey on March 24th, 1999.

He has spent the past 2o years coaching, with 15 of those being as a head coach.

McMillan is in his 3rd year as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers.