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Sidney Lowe relishes return to NC State

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•02/23/23•

TheWolfpacker

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Former NC State star and head coach Sidney Lowe (Photo by Larry Blankenship/On3)

When former NC State basketball head coach Sidney Lowe saw his team fall to Maryland in the first round of the 2011 ACC Tournament, he hung his trademark red blazer up in the closet for over a decade. Twelve years later, the blazer still fits.

Lowe resigned under pressure as head coach days following that loss to the Terrapins, ending a five-year reign that did not match the success he had as the beloved point guard on the 1983 NC State basketball national championship team.

Following that 2011 season, Lowe returned to his coaching roots in the NBA. He’s been a two-time NBA head coach, and aside from his stint at his alma mater, Lowe has been coaching in the league since 1991. Currently, Lowe is an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are fourth in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings.

The day job, more than anything, Lowe insisted, has kept him away from NC State since his college coaching days ended. But when the 40th anniversary of the Cardiac Pack’s legendary and immortal run to a national title approached, Lowe felt a renewed push from his alma mater to bring him, and others, back for a celebration.

Leading the charge, Lowe noted, was NC State director of athletics Boo Corrigan.

“I give Boo a great deal of credit,” Lowe said. “He talked to Thurl [Bailey], he talked to Terry [Gannon] and he talked to myself, three of us that have different schedules. Instead of saying this is the date, he said, ‘Tell me what’s good for you guys, and we’ll make it happen.’

“When someone does that, they are telling you, ‘We want you back. We want you to come back.’ … That’s what he did. We got all of our guys here.”

That 1983 team has developed a bond that has only grown only tighter over time. Lowe noted they talk via group text frequently, and there is the occasional Zoom meeting to see each other’s faces.

“We accomplished something together as a team, and it’s going to carry on forever,” Lowe noted. “People are still talking about it 40 years later. I go to games in the NBA, and someone wants my autograph. I think they want it because I am in the NBA. They’ll say, ‘That was a great game in ’83.’

“It impacted so many people, not just people in North Carolina but people everywhere.”

One by one, the surviving members of the 1983 national title team were introduced before the crowd at PNC Arena during halftime of the Wolfpack’s win over Wake Forest on Wednesday evening. The three senior headliners on the team, Lowe, Bailey and Dereck Whittenburg, were the last three announced.

Sidney Lowe was the final one, and he may have received the loudest ovation.

“It’s a great feeling to come back here and get that love,” Lowe admitted. “It meant a lot to me.”

“It’s great to feel loved,” he added.

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