Basketball
...tionally ranked Virginia at Reynolds Coliseum on January 12, 1983, NC State guard Dereck Whittenburg was forced to the bench after landing awkwardly on his right foot. With its best perimeter shooter sitting on the sidelines, the Pack's upset bid went up in flames as senior All-America Ralph Sampson rallied the Cavaliers to an 88-80 victory. More importantly, however, it was learned after the game that Whittenburg would be out of action for up to six weeks with a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot. With a record of 7-3 at the time, NC State suddenly had the look of a team that might very well struggle without one of its three senior leaders. This was also the year in which the ACC was experimenting with a short three-point line that measured only 17 feet 9 inches from the basket. Obviously, Whittenburg's incredible marksmanship from the perimeter had been one of the Wolfpack's most feared offensive weapons. Without him, NC State would not and could not be the same team. In the immediate aftermath of that Virginia game, the normally loquacious ...