Al Green's lonely free throw beat North Carolina in 1976

NC State’s Al Green stood on the free-throw line at North Carolina’s Carmichael Auditorium on Jan. 18, 1976 with no one else on the court.

Players from both teams had gone to the sidelines as the young transfer player from Western Arizona College by way of Maine by way of Brooklyn calmly stepped to the line with no time remaining on the clock.

The game was tied at 67 and overtime was looming against the No. 7 Tar Heels on their home court.

Green, however, was fouled as time expired by North Carolina guard John Kuester. This was after Pack freshman guard Dirk Ewing intercepted a Phil Ford pass while Carolina tried to set up a final shot. Green had just previously turned the ball over himself with 20 seconds remaining when he was called for a traveling violation.

The sophomore vagabond had scored only two points in the game, in which the Pack rallied from 10 points down with 15 minutes to play. Green was on the court because NC State All-American Kenny Carr, who had 29 points and 16 rebounds, fouled out with 3:45 to play on a controversial charging call. The go-ahead basket he scored that would have given him more than 30 points was disallowed.

NC State point guard Craig Davis had also fouled out with 5 minutes to play.

But a Pack lineup that consisted of senior Phil Spence, sophomores Bobo Jackson and Green and freshmen Ewing and Glenn Sudhop never let the Tar Heels get more than 2 points ahead after Carr left the game and the quick-handed Ewing created two turnovers in the final minute to keep NC State’s hopes alive.

The sold-out crowd of 8,800 howled and arms were waving in Green’s face as he stepped to the line, but it had no effect as the 62.9% shooter coolly stepped up and made the first of his one-and-one opportunity.

He didn’t even attempt the second, as the No. 13 Wolfpack walked away from the nationally televised contest with a 68-67 victory, the 10th win over the Heels in the rivalry’s last 12 games.

“Coach just told me to take my time,” Green said after the game. “The crowd was really talking to me, it was rough. I took my time.

“I knew I could do it.”

It remains one of just seven State wins in Chapel Hill since the David Thompson era ended in 1974-75.

Green, who played two years for the Wolfpack in the mid-1970s, is a forgotten hero in the State-Carolina rivalry, which will be renewed again Saturday at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill.

Historically, Green is the closest thing State ever had to a wandering transfer-portal player, long before the NCAA invented such a thing in 2018. He grew up in New York City and averaged 30 points a game for an undefeated Harlem Prep team in 1973.

He went to Maine Central Institute for a year of prep school, averaging 40 points a game. In an exhibition game against Boston College, Green scored 56 points. In a New York summer league game, he once scored 88 points.

He attended Western Arizona College in Yuma, Arizona, leading his team in scoring and earning his third All-America distinction before joining the Wolfpack.

He spent two years with the Pack, averaging 13.8 points a game as a sophomore and 5.2 as a junior during a time when head coach Norman Sloan looked to establish an identity when the careers of Thompson and Carr came to an end.

Green took up track after his first season with the Wolfpack, winning an ACC title in the 100-yard sprint and the 440 relay.

Al Green Post-NC State

Following the 1976-77 season, Al Green, Ewing and twins Brian and Steve Walker all decided to transfer from Sloan’s program. Green landed for one season at LSU, Ewing went to Stetson and the Walker brothers returned to their home state of Indiana to play three years at Purdue.

Carr also announced his decision to declare for an NCAA hardship after his junior season, becoming the first Wolfpack player to leave early for the NBA.

“Coach Sloan and I decided it would be best for me to transfer,” Green said back then. “We talked about it several times and came to the conclusion that for what I want to accomplish, it would be best for me to transfer to another school.

“Coach Sloan and I didn’t agree on things. In fact, we often felt differently about my play. I’m really disappointed that things didn’t work out for me at State. But I want to set things straight — I respect Coach Sloan a whole lot and we’re still friends. And that’s what life’s all about, isn’t it?”

After sitting out a year, Green averaged 17.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists at LSU and was a third-round pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1979 NBA draft.

Amazingly, on sheer athletic ability alone, Green was also taken in the 10th round of the 1979 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers, even though he had never played organized football in his life. The team had hoped to use his speed and talent as a defensive back.

Instead, Green spent one season each with the Continental Basketball Association’s Utica (N.Y.) Olympics and the Atlantic City (N.J.) Hi-Rollers.

After 2 seasons, Green traveled to Australia to play professional basketball and finally set his roots. He spent nearly 15 seasons in the Australian leagues and even became a professional sprinter, with endorsements and other deals. After retiring in 1993 and becoming a naturalized Australian citizen, he went into coaching.

Al Green still lives in Adelaide, but his connection to NC State remains tight, if only because of the free throw he made with no one else on the court.

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].