RALEIGH, N.C. - David Thompson and three teammates from North Carolina State's 1974 NCAA title team attended Norm Sloan's funeral Friday, remembering a coach who "molded us from boys to men."
Mr. Sloan, 77, died Tuesday of pulmonary fibrosis at Duke Hospital in Durham. His funeral was about a mile from where he rejuvenated the N.C. State basketball program in the early 1970s.
He also was the first full-time basketball coach at Florida, from 1960-66, and returned to the Gators from 1980-89. He won 627 games including 266 at N.C. State and 235 at Florida.
Thompson, Tommy Burleson, Monte Towe and Phil Spence, all members of Mr. Sloan's 1974 title team, attended the service.
"Really, he molded us from boys to men," Thompson said. "He was somebody we could look up to in the way he led his life. He was a good, strong family man, and I really appreciated him for that."
Two of Mr. Sloan's granddaughters said the former coach was something more to them.
"Despite his success and his stature, he was always so careful not to be imposing," Tayler Nicholls told the audience of about 200, many of whom played for Mr. Sloan at N.C. State.
"You think Stormin' Norman was tough. You ought to meet his wife," said Blake Nicholls, another granddaughter. Joan Sloan always sang the national anthem at Wolfpack home games. "She was his inspiration. Together, they were unstoppable."
"BASKETBOWL" TO PACK HOUSE: When Michigan State hosts Kentucky today, a world-record crowd of close to 80,000 is expected to pack indoor Ford Field in Detroit, home of the NFL's Lions. "It's going to be wild," MSU guard Chris Hill said. "We've played in domes, but usually, the court is in the end zone and there's a curtain that cuts off half of the seats. It's going to be different to play in the middle of a big football stadium." With no seats behind the baskets, thousands of students will stand on the artificial turf to watch and be seen by a national television audience. The basketball attendance record is 75,000, set in 1951 when the Harlem Globetrotters played at Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
BOWLING GREEN: Coach Dan Dakich apologized for negative comments he made about the officiating in a loss Wednesday night. Dakich called for the firing of Eric Harmon, the MAC's director of officials, after the Falcons lost 81-75 at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne. Harmon did not assign the officials for the game, which Dakich acknowledged in his apology.
GEORGIA TECH: Guard Will Bynum becomes eligible today when the No.10 Yellow Jackets face Saint Louis in the opener of the Peach Bowl Classic doubleheader. Bynum hasn't played since Dec.30, for Arizona. After transferring he sat out the required two semesters and practiced.
ILLINOIS: Guard Deron Williams is expected to miss three games after having surgery for a broken jaw. He was hurt Thursday in a win over Maryland-Eastern Shore.
KANSAS: Forward Jeff Graves was indefinitely suspended from the team for undisclosed reasons. Graves has played in all five games this year, averaging 15 minutes, 3.8 points and four rebounds.
GEORGIA STATE: The school dedicated its new court in Lefty Driesell's honor. Driesell was 87-47 in four-plus seasons at GSU and stepped down Jan.3.
UCLA: Forward Trevor Ariza will make his season debut today against Loyola Marymount after receiving medical clearance to play limited minutes following a collapsed lung. Ariza, who suffered the injury in late November, participated in half of practice Friday.
Friday's games
MINNESOTA 100, ORAL ROBERTS 80: Kris Humphries scored 25 for the host Golden Gophers and came out best in a matchup of three of the nation's top-scoring freshmen. Humphries leads the nation's freshman in scoring; ORU's Ken Tutt and Caleb Green, came in third and fourth, respectively. Tutt scored 24, Green 16.
VILLANOVA 74, NORTHEASTERN 55: Curtis Sumpter scored a career-high 39 and had nine rebounds for the host Wildcats.
Women
MIAMI 80, FLORIDA 75: Chanivia Broussard scored 22 and Tamara James and Yolanda McCormick each hit critical 3-pointers late in the second half, helping lift the host Hurricanes. James' 3-pointer with 1:07 left broke a tie at 70 and put Miami ahead to stay. Bernice Mosby's jumper pulled UF within 73-72, but McCormick hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left for Miami.
NO.6 STANFORD 86, PACIFIC 25: Nicole Powell scored 17 despite sitting out the final 12 minutes as the host Cardinal allowing its fewest points since giving up a school-record 23 to Santa Clara on Feb.21, 1976.
NO.11 KANSAS ST. 82, IOWA 60: Kendra Wecker scored 21, Laurie Koehn added 20 and the visiting Wildcats held on after taking an 18-2 lead. The Hawkeyes got within four points in the first half.
NEBRASKA 60, NO.13 OHIO ST. 55: Keasha Cannon-Johnson's 3-pointer with 2:07 left put the host Cornhuskers ahead for good. Cannon-Johnson had six points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in a game with 13 lead changes and 10 ties.
WEST VIRGINIA: Sophomores Ashley Dunn and Tehana Geist left the program.
