The apology NC State owes the Big O and Johnny Green from Dixie Classic

Reposted from my former website on Jan. 8, 2015. PHOTO: Oscar Robertson in a famous photo from his college career. By TOM SHANAHAN Oscar Robertson, Johnny Green and North Carolina State’s 1958 Dixie Classic ran through my mind as I watched the four-day high school basketball celebration that was the 43rd annual Holiday Invitational last week at Raleigh's storied Holliday Gym on Broughton High's campus. I wondered how many of the elite high school players -- a couple that…

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West Point’s ‘firstie’ right tackle completes Oceanside hat trick

PHOTO: J.B. Hunter (55). By TOM SHANAHAN James and Lulu Hunter call their son J.B. “the softie of the family.” Their term of affection is understandable only if you recognize they’re retired non-commissioned Marines. They embraced the Corps’ creed as the military’s toughest branch. J.B., though, certainly doesn’t look like a “softie” on first impression. He’s Army football’s third-year starting right tackle, a 6-foot-4, 290-pounder. As for nicknames, he prefers “firstie,” the class designation for West Point seniors…

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