The dynamic duo of David Thompson and Monte Towe teamed with 7-foot-4 center, Tom Burleson, and power forward and future MLB pitcher, Tim Stoddard, to help lead North Carolina State to a thrilling 1973-74 ACC Basketball Championship with a 103-100 overtime victory against Maryland to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. It then dispatched UCLA 80-77 in double overtime in the semifinals and Marquette 76-64 in the championship game. The Wolfpack’s win ended UCLA streak of consecutive national championships at nine.
Though dunking was prohibited in college at the time, Towe would frequently lob passes to the high-flying Thompson for what was known as an alley-oop.
The pair both signed with the American Basketball Association’s Denver Nuggets following their time at NC State in 1975 and spent the 1975-76 ABA season together (the final one of upstart league) and the next year in Denver with the NBA. Towe moved on to a career in coaching while Thompson played in the NBA through the 1983-84 season with the Seattle Super Sonics.