RIP Lorenzo Charles

[Philsfan]

Just getting word in Raleigh area that former Wolfpack star Lorenzo Charles was killed today in a bus accident on Interstate 40. Best to the Wolfpack and his loved ones. Coverage will be on wralsportsfan.com

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Just getting word in Raleigh area that former Wolfpack star Lorenzo Charles was killed today in a bus accident on Interstate 40. Best to the Wolfpack and his loved ones. Coverage will be on wralsportsfan.com
Jeez. Horrible news. I've got WRAL on but haven't been paying attention to it. They are doing a special on another murder trial that was declared a mistrial today and haven't mentioned this yet.

They just broke in with the news on Charles' death. More at 11. Literally what they just said.

[-jk]

Condolences.

link (www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9787277/)

-jk

[Newton_14]

Condolences.

link (www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/9787277/)

-jk

Wow. This is terrible. I am floored. Lorenzo was one of my favorites. That dunk will live in our minds forever. Tremendous loss for the Wolfpack Family.

Prayers for the family.

[roywhite]

Wow. Very sad.

Condolences to his friends and family, and to Wolfpack fans.

1983 NCAA highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l5N2eKdvL4)

[Verga3]

Great sympathy and prayers to his family.

Lo was one of the all-time NC State and ACC heroes. Who doesn't remember that dunk in '83 (off Derek Wittenburg's pass) to win it all in The Pit v. Phi Slamma Jamma.

Sad day for the NC State family. We are feeling you...

[OldPhiKap]

Sad day for State; sad day for the Triangle; sad day for the Conference.

Rest in peace, "Lo"

[Billy Dat]

A few weeks ago, I was at the University of New Mexico for a business trip and made sure to stop by The Pit on my way to the airport. As I stared through the gate at the court (you could enter the arena but not freely roam), I asked the guard which hoop Lorenzo Charles dunked on? The guy looked at me funny, and I went into a more elaborate explanation, and he didn't know the answer - weak! Still, on that brief visit, all I was thinking about was that play and Lorenzo Charles, and how amazing it was that for at least a few seconds, judging by his reaction, he had no idea what he'd just done. I am very sad to hear this news.

[Newton_14]

A few weeks ago, I was at the University of New Mexico for a business trip and made sure to stop by The Pit on my way to the airport. As I stared through the gate at the court (you could enter the arena but not freely roam), I asked the guard which hoop Lorenzo Charles dunked on? The guy looked at me funny, and I went into a more elaborate explanation, and he didn't know the answer - weak! Still, on that brief visit, all I was thinking about was that play and Lorenzo Charles, and how amazing it was that for at least a few seconds, judging by his reaction, he had no idea what he'd just done. I am very sad to hear this news.

Ironic that you remember the look on his face. WRAL has a photo of Charles right after the dunk, and it brought back that same memory for me. For a brief few seconds the look on his face made it obvious it had not hit him yet. Not sure if he wasn't sure if it counted, or if he was not sure what the score was or what, but he clearly did not realize at that moment he just scored the winning basket in the National Title game.

It was just a bizarre moment. Once it hit him he went nuts like everyone else. State was to be "run out of the gym" that night, and after the show Houston put on in the semi's against Louisville, it was to be a dunk fest. In the end, Houston loses on a dunk, and Houston had exactly one dunk in the game, by Olajuwon.

Today is a sad day, but like I said earlier, Lorenzo Charles will always be remembered for the most famous dunk in NCAA history.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

Just getting word in Raleigh area that former Wolfpack star Lorenzo Charles was killed today in a bus accident on Interstate 40. Best to the Wolfpack and his loved ones. Coverage will be on wralsportsfan.com

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord; and let the perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. O Lord hear my prayer.

[cspan37421]

Where I lived, a cheery kid named Earvin Johnson was my introduction to college basketball. But that was more local pride.

It was NCSU's run in 1983, culminating in Lorenzo Charles' dunk, that introduced me to March Madness. There's a difference ... and what could be more crazy than a team that's not supposed to get a bid to the tournament go and get an automatic bid by winning their conference tournament, and then winning the big one ... and in such dramatic fashion!

While Jimmy V was running around looking for someone to hug, I was running around the beach house trying to tell my family and friends that they missed an unbelievable ending to the NCAA Final - and that they should run back and catch the replay of the final shot.

Only a screenwriter going for a predictable, unrealistic, G-rated kids' movie would find such a storyline received well. Yet it happened.

Thanks for the memories ....

[Atlanta Duke]

Sad news that has impacted Duke in a manner that surprised me

Lorenzo Charles reach in the sports' world went beyond his contributions on the basketball court for N.C. State.

Charles, who died Monday afternoon in a bus accident on I-40 in Raleigh, drove for the Duke lacrosse team and became a part of the family, coach John Danowski said Monday night.

Danowski had Charles talk to his team during the NCAA tournament in 2010, before the Blue Devils won the national title.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/loss-of-pack-legend-felt-at-duke-too

[Reilly]

Was talking about Tom Emma's death w/ some folks this evening, now another who played in '83 in the ACC dies .... too young ... a boxscore from Feb 1983:

http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/games/boxscore.php?gameid=19830223

[davekay1971]

Charles and Whittenburg are the centerpieces of my favorite non-Duke basketball memory. At age 11, I watched that NCSU team all season and every moment (I could) of their miraculous run through the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Their victory, and Lorenzo's dunk, cemented ACC basketball as my absolute favorite sport.

It will be with another twinge of sadness that I watch the inevitable playing of that highlight next March. Always bittersweet to watch Jimmy V running around looking for someone to hug. Now another bit of sadness seeing Charles complete Whittenburg's unintentional alley-oop.

[WillJ]

Sad to hear about Lorenzo Charles. Not a religious person, but I like the prayer above. As others have mentioned, the dunk was only the start of his college career...he went on to be an absolutely great player in the ACC. He was able to get deep position but then had really nice touch as well. One of the best ever at NCSU.
I also wanted to recall that he made a mistake as a freshman, the year before the title, in that he participated in the robbery of a Domino's deliveryman....I think he and some friends strongarmed a pizza. When he next came to Duke, the student body showered the court with Domino's pizza box tops - hundreds if not thousands of cardboard pieces flying down on to the court, hitting the players, taking significant time to clean up. Not our best moment, and one of the things that led to the avuncular letter from Terry Sanford. Charles handled the situation a lot better than we did and went on to really wup on Duke for the rest of his career. I think that was a seminal moment for both him and for Duke, as we both went on to better behavior after that.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Just speculating here, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that a medical "event", like a heart attack or stroke, preceded his crashing the bus. His dieing act may have been to veer the bus off the road to save other people from the danger his bus was about to pose at it hurtled out of his control. Heroic to the last.

[Reddevil]

"The Dunk" was one of the greatest moments in all of sports history. It was the exclamation point for the "Team of Destiny". From a college basketball fan - thanks for the memories big guy. I'm glad you got to experience that.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Just speculating here, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that a medical "event", like a heart attack or stroke, preceded his crashing the bus. His dieing act may have been to veer the bus off the road to save other people from the danger his bus was about to pose at it hurtled out of his control. Heroic to the last.

That was exactly my thought also, Ozzie! A hero to the last! On the news, that Lorenzo was headed to Durham.


Lorenzo drove the bus for the Mens DUKE Lacrosse Team. Coach Danowski had Lorenzo speak to the 2010 Team, before the National Championship. So, Lorenzo was a part of the Duke Family, also. He was the bus driver for the Duke Lax team.

I will always remember the 1983 Cardiac Pack. I just found, last week, cleaning out boxes in the garage, a 1983 NC State National Championship shirt. Lorenzo Charles will always be a Hero to the Wolfpack Nation, in that run to the National Championship, and to me, also!

Thoughts, prayers and vibes to the Charles Family, friends, former teammates and classmates, Wolfpack Nation and the Duke Lacrosse team, and fans.... as he touched all of us.

[epoulsen]

very sad news, especially for the pack nation. MOST NC State students weren't alive when he made that play, I wasn't, but growing up in Raleigh you learned who he was at a very early age. Perhaps NC State's players can follow his example. Champion, I think all Duke fans can respect just what that means.

[Rudy]

"The Dunk" was one of the greatest moments in all of sports history. It was the exclamation point for the "Team of Destiny". From a college basketball fan - thanks for the memories big guy. I'm glad you got to experience that.

Ditto. I am glad I watched it on the live broadcast. I love to watch the replays as Hakeem watches the "pass" go over his head as he stood around the foul line thinking his team had won. Oops.

[Atlanta Duke]

Joe Posnaski of SI.com remembers the great run of the 1983 Wolfpack when ACC basketball in particular and college basketball in general was in its prime - nice read

I had landed smack in the middle of the golden age of college basketball. Think about this: Michael Jordan had just started playing for the great Dean Smith at North Carolina. Ralph Sampson — a 7-foot-4 force of nature — was the center at Virginia. A young Bob Knight disciple from West Point named Mike Krzyzewski had just started coaching at Duke. A young and brash coach from the Bronx, Bobby Cremins, had just started to coach at Georgia Tech. Maryland’s Lefty Driesell – a legendary character — had just recruited a promising young player named Len Bias. Wake Forest had a feisty team featuring good players whose names still sound like childhood to me — Anthony Teachey, Delaney Rudd, Mike Helms …

And up in Raleigh, an absurdly charismatic coach named Jim Valvano was creating a stir.

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/06/28/lorenzo-charles-and-the-shot/?sct=hp_wr_a1&eref=sihp

[DevilWearsPrada]

The N&O and local news reports that Lorenzo was NOT wearing his seat belt. The funeral service will be this Saturday.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/06/30/1310864/charles-was-not-buckled-prior.html