PowerPlay Magazin

We walked briskly down the sidewalk towards Reid Gymnasium.  From my dorm room it was a relatively short walk.  The home town, Western Carolina Catamounts had just returned home after beating Georgia Tech, an Atlantic Coast Conference team that likely had expected an easy victory against the surprising Catamounts.  Tonight's game was against Middle Tennessee and would be my first college basketball game.  I was a freshman at the small Southern Conference School nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina.  I had chosen to attend the school not for athletics, but for curricular reasons including a brand new science building that would be the location for many of the classes that I would attend while at WCU.  But tonight's game was going to be a defining moment for Western Carolina University Sports and would provide me with a memory that would stay with me, likely forever.

The year was 1980.  "Who shot JR?", was the question television fans were asking.  It was a year defined by great music.  Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, & Billy Joel were a few of the artists who topped the charts during the calendar year.  Jack Lambert was a beast at linebacker leading his Pittsburgh Steelers to win Super Bowl XIV and the New York Islanders had won the Stanley Cup.  It was a year that I would live, enjoy and find passions that would guide me for the rest of my life.  I had graduated high school and was off to experience all that college had to offer.

The date was November 29, 1980.  The Western Carolina Catamounts were coached by Steve Cottrell and he had assembled a team that would prove to be extremely competitive that season.  The team featured Greg Dennis and Ronnie Carr, but, also included a host of others who could control the basketball and shoot the ball when needed.  Si Simmons and Mike MacFarlane provided the rebounding support as the teams tallest players.  Greg Dennis was one of the most dependable players that I have ever seen wear a Western Carolina jersey.  He was incredible in clutch situations and rarely missed a free throw during his career at WCU.  Ronnie Carr was the pure shooter.  He was a sophomore, but, was already being recruited by NBA teams.  His skills would be paramount in tonight's game.

Game time was 6:30 pm EST.  The game was the first home game for the Catamounts in the 1980/81 season.  The game would be special in that it would be the first NCAA game that would feature the 3 point shot.  The NCAA had selected the Cats conference (Southern) as one of two leagues to experiment with the use of an added 3 point line for the collegiate game.  The line would be placed 22 feet away from the basket (the line is now 19' 9" away) making the shot significantly more challenging than the current standards.  But, 22 feet was definitely within the range of Ronnie Carr and fans watched anticipating the shot as the game began.   Just under 2 minutes into the game, Ronnie shot from behind the arch but, the shot failed to go in.  The Cats were playing well but the 3 point shot would have to wait.

The time was 7:06 pm EST.  The scoreboard clock reached 16:09 in the first half and Carr shot another shot from behind the arch.  This shot was from the left corner and this shot did go in.  Ronnie Carr had just shot the first 3 point shot in NCAA history and I had witnessed it.  The Cats and their fans were fired up, and the enthusiasm continued throughout the night, leading to a seven point win.  I left Reid Gym knowing that I may have just seen a defining moment in sports history.  

Twenty five years later.  The ball used for that first 3 point shot is now on display at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Ronnie Carr never made it to the NBA.  Before his senior year at WCU, Carr was in a terrible car accident that caused injuries that ended his ability to compete in the sport.  Even though he would never be able to compete in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks still drafted him following his senior year.  How amazing.  It was my first NCAA basketball game and today I remember the excitement and energy that gym provided me and everyone else there.  It was a night to be remembered.  With basketball in the near future for PPM, I am looking forward to similar basketball moments here.  Hopefully my first game here can have as memorable result as my first NCAA basketball game some twenty five years ago.