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Billy Packer has passed away

An encounter with Billy. In either 67 or 68 I attended WF basketball camp. I was 12 or 13 and had minimal bball skills but we're a WF family and I wanted to go. McCloskey spoke at opening then camp drills were run by players from other schools. One day Billy blew a whistle and told us to all go to other end of the court for an instruction session. I'm s l o w l y making my way, in fact I'm last. Around the foul line he turns and asks why I'm last. I told him it was so I could be at the front and not miss a word from him
. He was not impressed and told me to get my smartass in gear or something "similar". I'm still a taildragger.
 
liveanddiedeac said:
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We had one like that in my hometown. In high school we held a tournament each year and we would all dress for golf and carry a full set of clubs. With caddies. The Fred Garvin Open. Fred Garvin was the "Fred Garvin, male prostitute" skit played by Dan Akroyd on SNL in the late 70s. That morphed into an annual golf weekend/drunkfest in Pinehurst at The Pinecrest Inn (rotated courses over the years) by the same name (although it became known as just The Garvin) and that went on for about 30 years. We usually had about 36 guys made up of Wake Forest Sigma Chis and Betas from UNC. The 4 winners were awarded the ugliest polyester sport coats we found at Goodwill each year. I wouldn't be surprised if someone might see this post and knew about it or even went.
 
Was age nine when I first heard of Billy Packer. My sister was a student at Wake and I had the opportunity to follow the Deacs. Remember watching Wake in the final four thinking in my young mind they would return to that level again soon. Was I ever mistaken! Jim Thacker sports director at WBTV was working for C.D. Chesley calling Wake games. For several years Bones McKinney did the color with Thacker. When Packer arrived everyone referred to the broadcast team as Thacker & Packer. The two were very good and there is no wonder that Billy got the offer to join NBC before his career at CBS. Billy was an icon and will remain forever in the annals of college basketball. God Bless the Packer family.
 
Packer was so mad about the horrific decisions those in charge of Wake Forest made about our basketball team over the last 30 years that he wanted nothing to do with us. He literally sent Wake Forest a letter “resigning” from our Hall of Fame. Packer was dead on of course as he always was. We made horrific decisions and we still are.

I was pretty offended to see what we attempted to do today associating him with our shit show. Billy did not want a seat at our game. He hasn’t been in decades. He wanted nothing to do with Wake Forest, particularly Wake Forest basketball. Which is his prerogative. So why did we think that was ok?
 
donaldross said:
Packer was so mad about the horrific decisions those in charge of Wake Forest made about our basketball team over the last 30 years that he wanted nothing to do with us. He literally sent Wake Forest a letter “resigning” from our Hall of Fame. Packer was dead on of course as he always was. We made horrific decisions and we still are.

I was pretty offended to see what we attempted to do today associating him with our shit show. Billy did not want a seat at our game. He hasn’t been in decades. He wanted nothing to do with Wake Forest, particularly Wake Forest basketball. Which is his prerogative. So why did we think that was ok?
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It was actually pretty well known that amends have been made in the last few years. And he split with the school over one particular decision that was pre-Wellman and Currie and had nothing to do with anything other than one person’s job.
 
deacdixieboy said:
It was actually pretty well known that amends have been made in the last few years. And he split with the school over one particular decision that was pre-Wellman and Currie and had nothing to do with anything other than one person’s job.
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He's flying to "parts unknown" with Wellman out of Greensboro. Leave him alone!
 
donaldross said:
Packer was so mad about the horrific decisions those in charge of Wake Forest made about our basketball team over the last 30 years that he wanted nothing to do with us. He literally sent Wake Forest a letter “resigning” from our Hall of Fame. Packer was dead on of course as he always was. We made horrific decisions and we still are.

I was pretty offended to see what we attempted to do today associating him with our shit show. Billy did not want a seat at our game. He hasn’t been in decades. He wanted nothing to do with Wake Forest, particularly Wake Forest basketball. Which is his prerogative. So why did we think that was ok?
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He also wanted nothing to do with college basketball. Not just wake forest. Stopped watching it after he retired. Never went to another in person college basketball game after he called the championship game in 2008. Thought you would’ve known that.
 
donaldross said:
Packer was so mad about the horrific decisions those in charge of Wake Forest made about our basketball team over the last 30 years that he wanted nothing to do with us. He literally sent Wake Forest a letter “resigning” from our Hall of Fame. Packer was dead on of course as he always was. We made horrific decisions and we still are.

I was pretty offended to see what we attempted to do today associating him with our shit show. Billy did not want a seat at our game. He hasn’t been in decades. He wanted nothing to do with Wake Forest, particularly Wake Forest basketball. Which is his prerogative. So why did we think that was ok?
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Once again, you’re wrong. Fences had been mended. From just last season:

 
I’m aware of this specific
donaldross said:
Packer was so mad about the horrific decisions those in charge of Wake Forest made about our basketball team over the last 30 years that he wanted nothing to do with us. He literally sent Wake Forest a letter “resigning” from our Hall of Fame. Packer was dead on of course as he always was. We made horrific decisions and we still are.

I was pretty offended to see what we attempted to do today associating him with our shit show. Billy did not want a seat at our game. He hasn’t been in decades. He wanted nothing to do with Wake Forest, particularly Wake Forest basketball. Which is his prerogative. So why did we think that was ok?
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Is this goodbye?
 
And he split with the school over one particular decision that was pre-Wellman and Currie and had nothing to do with anything other than one person’s job.
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In his own words…

You were selected to Wake Forest’s Hall of Fame. Years later, you asked the school to withdraw your name What in the world happened? Pulling your name forever off an esteemed and glistening list. Wow!​

I recruited Charlie Davis when I was an assistant coach at Wake. He was the second African-American basketball player ever to play for the school. This is like 1968. He was the first ever African American ACC MVP. He never got his degree but after he played some pro ball, I helped him land a job at Wake and as part of the agreement he earned his college degree too. After some period, he called me and said that Wake wouldn’t allow him to advance. I reached out to the president on Charlie’s behalf but eventually he was let go. So I helped him file a grievance and eventually the university agreed to compensate Charlie and write him a letter of recommendation for future job applications elsewhere. It was unfair so when it was over, I just told Wake to remove me from the Hall of Fame.
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That lukewarm video to our players about sums it up. And his presence. See how Muggsy drove up yesterday to honor Carl Tacy? Never from Packer. Not even back when he attended games.
 
donaldross said:
That lukewarm video to our players about sums it up. And his presence. See how Muggsy drove up yesterday to honor Carl Tacy? Never from Packer. Not even back when he attended games.
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He’s a bit old. Maybe he couldn’t travel or didn’t want to risk it with Covid.
 
wefinish said:
He told me....right before he passed......it was due to having an off campus arena. Move it on campus and he 100% would've been there.
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Pretty strong statement from a guy who played home games in a Quonset Hut.
 
donaldross said:
Packer was so mad about the horrific decisions those in charge of Wake Forest made about our basketball team over the last 30 years that he wanted nothing to do with us. He literally sent Wake Forest a letter “resigning” from our Hall of Fame. Packer was dead on of course as he always was. We made horrific decisions and we still are.

I was pretty offended to see what we attempted to do today associating him with our shit show. Billy did not want a seat at our game. He hasn’t been in decades. He wanted nothing to do with Wake Forest, particularly Wake Forest basketball. Which is his prerogative. So why did we think that was ok?
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You're suck a jackass. Go fuck a goat!
 
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