The same thing happens every year. It’s Jimmy V week, four teams are invited to NYC and NC State is not one of them. Jimmy V and NC State are one…unless it’s a basketball tourney on ESPN, in which the Wolfpack are routinely denied access.
Why are we waiting on anybody? State needs to host the Jimmy V Heritage Classic EVERY YEAR in Reynolds. Period.
Bring It Home
My dad came for a visit while I was at State. We walked around campus and just kind of hung out for the afternoon. On the way to the parking garage, he asked if Reynolds might be open and if we could stop in.
The doors were unlocked with nobody in sight. The only thing on the original floor? A rack of basketballs.
We played five or so minutes of hoops. Eventually we left, purely because the deafening, echoey sound of dribbles seemed as though they were loud enough to wake up every security guard in a ten mile radius. It’s a simple memory, but something I’ll never forget.
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I love that State men’s team plays some non-conference/”holiday season” games at Reynolds. But I want the games to be elevated to have a little more meaning than, “Well, PNC ain’t gonna be filled, so let’s go small.”
Reynolds gives me goosebumps. Other’s start sweating at just the name…
Jay Bilas:
“Reynolds Coliseum at NC State was the toughest place I played while in college. Configured much the same way as Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the end zones were much deeper and the sides were right on top of you. Reynolds was loud, edgy and intense.”
Hubert Davis:
“The toughest place I ever played was Reynolds Coliseum, former home of the NC State Wolfpack. Cameron Indoor Stadium and Cole Field House don’t even come close.”
The Tournament
It’s a four-team tourney, hosted early in December so the campus is still buzzing with students. Every team has a connection to Jimmy, in one way or another.
Bucknell, Iona, Rutgers, UCONN, Houston, New Mexico State, Maryland…All having some connection to Jimmy V and State’s magic of yesteryear. Just imagine, two games a year, in Reynolds, with nothing but interviews, highlights and memories in-between game action?
This next part is crucial (and so help me God, if they don’t wear something similar Thursday night against B-C);
State wears throwbacks.
I need bright white State on the chest. Give me old school Tuffy on the shorts. Little banners on the back neck showcasing the ’74 and ’83 teams. Seriously, this is not rocket science, this should have been a tradition a long, long time ago.
In Conclusion
Forget the damn Jimmy V tourney in New York, I want us to host our own in the mecca of State basketball.
Create a yearly event that is part nostalgia and part celebration. Literally pack the hell out of that place and let’s watch some basketball. There is not many figures in college basketball history, that had the charisma and respect that Valvano had. It’d be only right to bring it home.
This is a great idea, please try to get others considering it. I grew up going to games in Reynolds, we should use it more. My Dad “majored” in basketball while he was a student, and he and his best friend went to practice every day. Everett Case let them sit in the stands (the only other people there except the team) and watch because he knew they were just super fans, not spies. I love the idea of the throwback “STATE” uniforms, and it always pisses me off that we bowed to the ACC and stopped using it. If… Read more »