The college basketball world was shocked yesterday by the untimely passing of Lorenzo Charles, the ex-North Carolina State player made famous for his national championship-clinching dunk in the 1983 NCAA Tournament.
Charles, 47, died in a bus wreck on Interstate 40 in Raleigh.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski called the death "a tragedy."
"To me, he was a fun-loving, good guy," Krzyzewski said. "Just to hear or read the remarks of his teammates, his family at N.C. State, he seemed a very loved person, and it saddens me and our hearts go out to his family and the N.C. State family."
Charles also was a part of the Duke lacrosse family, as he drove the team for Elite Coach. Head coach John Danowski even asked Charles to speak to his team during the 2010 NCAA Tournament, which resulted in the program's first national championship.
"It's great that he scored that winning basket but he was so much more than that," Danowski said. "He was such a good person. He was just the kind of guy you wanted to be around. Everyone here loved him. We are all heartbroken."
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