Lorenzo Charles, N.C. State Wolfpack basketball great, died at 47 in a tour bus accident Monday. Charles was driving the bus on Interstate 40 in Raleigh, North Carolina when it somehow ended up slamming into a stand of trees. It's not yet clear what went wrong, but police confirmed the driver didn't make it out of the wreck.
You remember Charles, even if the name doesn't ring a bell. His buzzer-beating, game-winning dunk gave the Wolfpack the 1983 national title over Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler's heavily favored Phi Slamma Jamma Houston Cougars. It's the game that sent Jim Valvano sprinting around the court, looking for somebody to hug ... here, just watch it again:
Charles was picked No. 41 in the 1985 NBA Draft, going on to play for the Atlanta Hawks and a few international teams. In recent years he made a handful of guest appearances at Lost Letterman, answering questions from readers and remained an active member of the Wolfpack basketball community.
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