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Wolfpack Finishes Regular Season By Crushing Wake

By Tim Peeler, GoPack.com

Mar 5, 2008

An ecstatic Jim Valvano proclaimed Saturday afternoon: “This is what we could have been all year long.”

The question now for NC State’s third-year coach, who watched his team’s record-setting 130-89 thrashing of Wake Forest Saturday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum, is whether this is the team he will see in the post-season.

If it is, the Wolfpack and its veteran, backcourt-rich roster have a chance to go a long way. If not, the Pack may not even make the NCAA Tournament.

Valvano was in no mindset to consider those questions or how his team will fare in a rematch with the Demon Deacons in just five days down at the Omni in Atlanta at the 30th-annual ACC Basketball Tournament. The victory assured the Wolfpack (17-10 overall, 8-6 ACC) of the tournament’s fourth seed, while the Deacons suffered their fourth consecutive defeat to fall to the No. 5 seed.

“We’ve got to play again in the first round of the ACC Tournament,” Valvano said. “I know Coach [Carl] Tacy won’t let them forget this. But that’s another story. We’ll worry about that later.”

This was a day to simply savor the moment, to say good-bye to four hard-working seniors and to relish the team’s return to its early January peak, back before senior guard Dereck Whittenburg suffered what was thought to be a career-ending broken foot.

It was a day to forget about the fact that the team at one point was 9-7, that there were problems in the lockerroom and that preseason expectations may still go unfulfilled. It was a day to enjoy just how good this team could be, though surely none of the 10,600 spectators at Reynolds Coliseum expected to see such an offensive explosion. The Pack had 16 3-pointers and scored an amazing 74 points in the second half alone.

“That is exactly how we were playing on Jan. 12 when Whitt broke his foot,” Valvano said. “We were making 3-point shots, running the transition game and playing with a lot of excitement. I couldn’t have written a better script for the game. I am just happy to finish on this note.”

As were the four seniors, Whittenburg, Sidney Lowe, Thurl Bailey and forward Quinton Leonard, who joined the team two years ago after two years at Louisburg (N.C.) Junior College. Leonard joined the other three regulars in the starting lineup, playing the game’s first two minutes before being replaced by sophomore Cozell McQueen.

“It’s great to be here,” Leonard said. “I hate leaving, and I am going to miss this uniform. I’m happy to be associated with these guys, especially with the seniors. Going out with this group of seniors is going out with style.”