godeacsplate
Well-known member
We lost a great man, friend and Deacon this morning. Eddie had a massive stroke on Sunday and passed away during the night.
We lost a great man, friend and Deacon this morning. Eddie had a massive stroke on Sunday and passed away during the night.
Didn't realize that Eddie had such an extensive and varied coaching career over more than 40 years:
1976–1978 Clemson (assistant)
1978–1979 Truett McConnell
1979–1981 East Carolina (assistant)
1981–1986 Belmont Abbey
1986–1991 South Carolina (assistant)
1991–1995 East Carolina
1995–2000 Oregon State
2000–2002 Greensboro
2002–2017 USC Upstate
Payne coached one of the only two ECU teams to make the NCAA tourney. His 1993 team won the CAA tournament, and made the NCAAs as a #16 seed, and played #1 UNC, who eventually won the tournament when Chris Webber infamously called a TO which Michigan didn't have.
As a player, Payne played 3 years at WF (freshman weren't eligible back in those days). He averaged 1 ppg at soph, 9 as a junior and 15 as a senior. His senior year, WF finished DFL in the ACC, but the Deacs upset UNC 54-52 in the first round of the ACC tournament. Payne led WF with 18 in that game. That UNC team included Bobby Jones and George Karl. Here is an excerpt from an article about that WF upset:
Led by George Karl and Bobby Jones, the Tar Heels finished second, between N.C. State and Maryland, during the regular season and entered the ACC tournament ranked eighth nationally. With State on probation, all they needed to do was advance to the ACC final to qualify for the NCAA and a chance at a second consecutive Final Four. In the ACC quarterfinals, Carolina played last-place Wake Forest, a team it had defeated by 19 and 18 points during the regular season. Jones' tip-in gave the Tar Heels a 48-46 lead with two seconds remaining, before Eddie Payne threw a length-of-the-court inbounds pass to Lee Foye, who made a 12- footer at the buzzer to force overtime. In OT, Karl missed a 15-footer in the waning seconds, and Phil Perry converted a fast-break layup at the buzzer to give the Deacons a 54-52 victory. Wake, the first last-place team to win an ACC tournament game, lost to Maryland the next day.
And had Wake defeated Maryland, Wake would have gone to the NCAA's since everyone left was on probation,
all for the recruitment of David Thompson.
This was in the old days when only the winner of the ACC tournament went to the NCAA tournament. By beating u*NC, Wake kept them from an opportunity for an NCAA title.
I was a freshman that year, not from the Carolinas and totally unfamiliar with the rivalry of the Big Four schools. Luckily the fall semester was a huge indoctrination into those rivalries so the Carolina game meant everything to me. It was not on TV, but radios all over campus were tuned in. I will NEVER forget the explosion of students screaming and cheering as they streamed out of their dorm rooms toward the quad when the layup went in. I have never experienced anything like that before or since. RIP Eddie. HOF memories.
Liz Phillips?
The article cited above failed to mention Carl Tacy's coaching ability or his craftiness. He employed the 4 corners O the entire game. Gave UNC a big serving of their own medicine. Great psychological ploy that worked. Dean had no answer. Had he, UNC easily wins the game by a comfortable 10 point cushion, IMO.
Payne was a walk-on freshman JV'er, but a scholarship player by the time of this game. I'm pretty sure Phil Perry, who hit the winning layup, was a walk-on freshman, as it was the first year freshman were eligible, IIRC. Karl made the decision to close-out on Byers, thinking there is no way he doesn't take the shot, and give the ball up to a seldom used freshman. But Tony, who was a great shooter who transferred in from Vincennes Jr. College, hit Phil breaking to the basket for the winner. (Tacy followed Byers when he played h.s. ball near Shelby, but didn't qualify for Wake when he graduated.)