NC State legend David Thompson 'grateful’ for statue outside of Reynolds Coliseum 

David Thompson was at one of his grandson’s basketball games last year when his phone rang. It was NC State Athletic Director Boo Corrigan, but Thompson was so focused on the game, he let the call go. 

When the Wolfpack basketball legend called Corrigan back, the request was not one he was expecting. NC State wanted to construct a statue of Thompson and they wanted his permission to do so.

“Would that be OK with me?” Thompson jokingly recalled. “Any time you can have a statue of yourself at a great university like North Carolina State, a university that I love with so many outstanding fans, and so much history in basketball, it’s something that I could never imagine.”

A little over a year later, in front of hundreds of people that were steps away from where Thompson dominated the floor at Reynolds Coliseum, a more than 13-foot bronze statue of the Pack’s legendary figure was unveiled on Wednesday morning. 

Thompson is the fifth statue of a former basketball figure on campus, but the first former player to earn one. He joins a storied list of coaches that have them outside the arena, including his former coach, Norm Sloan. 

“It really means a lot to be the first player,” Thompson said. “There’s only one first player. To be that one, you’ve got to be special. I’m just grateful for them to choose me to be that first one.”

The North Carolina native was a three-time consensus All-America, a three-time ACC Player of the Year and he is the only player with his number — No. 44 — to be retired at NC State. Oh, and he helped lead NC State to its first national title in 1974. 

Thompson’s resume justified him as that “special” player, which garnered a statue.  

The bronze sculpture sits on a 44-inch stainless steel stand, which commemorates Thompson’s standing vertical jump. It features the legend in midair just before an alley-oop, which Thompson and his 1974 NC State national championship teammates helped make popular in basketball. 

Why that pose? That was Thompson’s idea. 

“We really followed David Thompson’s lead, and he wanted to be remembered for the alley-oop,” said David Alan Clark, the statue’s sculptor. “It was really trying to get his grace and his athleticism, and part of the reason we put it on the stainless steel base, we hope that reflects around it and you get that sense he’s suspended in the air — he’s a skywalker, he’s not bound by the ground.”

The almost 1,000-pound representation of Thompson took 10 months from start to finish, including five months of eight-hour work days in a row for Clark to finish the statue in Wyoming. After that, it was loaded onto a flatbed truck to make the journey south for Raleigh. 

And on Wednesday, ahead of the Pack’s annual Heritage Game inside Reynolds, the statue’s journey was complete as Thompson, his friends and family, and fans from around the state watched as the black sheet covering it was lifted off. 

The large crowd and reception was a joy for Thompson, who became choked up at times when he thought about his parents if they were able to see it now. 

“It was great, it was overwhelming,” Thompson said. “State fans are always great, and to see so many people come out during the middle of the week at 11:30, was pretty awesome. … It was a big moment, not only for me, but for my family.”

While there were hundreds in attendance, a few of Thompson’s rivals on the court were there too. Virginia’s Barry Parkhill, the 1972 ACC Player of the Year, was present, and so was North Carolina’s Phil Ford, the 1978 ACC Player of the Year — Thompson’s player of the year honors were sandwiched in between the two legendary figures. 

Those two being present for the ceremony meant a lot to Thompson, but Ford said he had to be present for the big moment. 

“To me, he’s the greatest player ever in this league,” Ford said. “For him to be honored in such a fantastic way by NC State University, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. He and I have been very good friends ever since I met him as a junior in high school. He’s just the best.”

Ford and Thompson have been friends for more than 50 years. The former Tar Heel was actually recruited by NC State in high school, and he was present when Thompson hit his head against Pittsburgh in the second round of the 1974 NCAA Tournament. 

Ford sat on the Wolfpack bench, and as he watched Thompson’s injury — and the subsequent return to the arena after a trip to the hospital, he was amazed by NC State’s fans. 

“When he fell, it was crazy how quiet the crowd got,” Ford said. “But what impressed me more as a 12th grader being recruited by NC State, when he walked back in the arena, I have never heard an arena that loud in my life. I said to myself, ‘These guys must love this guy.’ It was pretty amazing.”

That love does not appear to have waned five decades later. The crowd that was present in front of Reynolds Coliseum proved it. 

But as Thompson looked at the statue, if there was one thing that he could add, it would be UCLA legend Bill Walton — who the Pack beat to advance to the 1974 national title game — underneath him as he jumped towards the rim. 

“It turned out real good, except they could have had [Bill] Walton up under me,” Thompson said. “But you get the gist of the picture. I think they did a great job with it. Showing the 44-inch vertical on the bottom of the statue, having me levitate in the air. That’s what I did back in the day.”

Even without Walton on the statue, it is clear that Thompson flew through the air on a nightly basis inside Reynolds. Now, his airborne ability is outside the storied arena for all to enjoy for the rest of time.