Legends
Meet the Legends!
Legends have included coaches, successful graduates, former athletes, and other individuals who are associated with NC State and are well known around the Wolfpack community.
Their involvement as a celebrity “fifth” player on a team has helped raise significant dollars each year that helped fund new practice tees, bunker renovations, on-course restrooms, benches and coolers, improved clubhouse amenities, additional parking, and general support for changes to enhance the golfing experience.
Thank you to our 2021 Legends of NC State!
Debbie Antonelli
Antonelli is a college basketball analyst for ESPN and CBS Sports in her 34th year. She graduated with a double major from NC State and was a three-year starter for the Wolfpack Women’s Basketball. Antonelli went on to get her Masters Degree from Ohio University in Sports Administration. She resides in Mount Pleasant, SC with her husband and 3 boys.
Eddie Biedenbach
Biedenbach played basketball at NC State from 1965-1968. He was elected to the first team All-ACC two times and garnered the nickname “The Pittsburgh Pickpocket” for his defensive skills. Biedenbach is the only player to have played under Everett Case, Press Maravich, and Norm Sloan. He graduated in 1968 with a degree in natural resources. Biedenbach has served as an assistant coach at NC State (1974 National Championship Team), Georgia, and UNC-Wilmington and was the head coach at Davidson and UNC-Asheville, where he is the winningest coach in UNC-Asheville and Big South Conference history.
Neil Chance
Neil Chance currently still holds the Outdoor Long Jump record for NC State University and the title of 1992 World Junior Long Jump Gold Medalist. Neil was a two-time Olimpic Trials Qualifier, two-time All-American and three-time ACC Champion.
Francis Combs
Combs played baseball at NC State and was a member of the 1968 College World Series team along with his twin brother Freddie. After graduating in 1969, he went on to be drafted by the NY Yankees and played four years of professional baseball. While in high school he was the catcher for Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish“ Hunter. Combs serves as a spotter for the Wolfpack Sports Network at all NC State football games, a position he has held since 1966. His consecutive game streak reached 598 games before missing a game in 2016.
Chase Duncan
Originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is proud to now call Raleigh his home. Chase has experienced competitive golf at one of the highest levels as he was a 4-year letter winner under Hall of Fame coach, Richard Sykes, at N.C. State University. At only 24, Chase was named Lead Instructor of the Wildwood Green Golf Academy at Wildwood Green Golf Club in Raleigh, NC. Then, in November of 2009 Chase was given the opportunity to take his teaching to one of the best new facilities in North Carolina, the Lonnie Poole Golf Course at N.C. State University. During his playing and teaching career Chase has had the opportunity to learn from some of the game’s most knowledgeable minds including a number of top 100 worldwide instructors.
Chase has always been a student of the game. He has been able to compile the wealth of information that he has learned from various instructors to form his own theory and understanding for the mechanics of the game. His experiences as a player and as a teacher have molded his philosophy of implementing sound mechanics to allow his students to achieve ultimate athleticism throughout all areas of their game. He prides himself on his communication skills and makes it his primary goal to teach each student exactly what their flaws are and how to fix them. In addition to his in-person lesson success, Chase founded OwnYourGolfGame.com to be able to share his techniques and insights with a much broader online audience.
Caroline Ellington
Caroline Ellington (class of 2013) is originally from New Bern, North Carolina and is a proud Wolfpack Women’s Golf alumna. Caroline officially joined the Pack in 2009 when she was awarded a prestigious Park Scholarship; after which she was invited to join the golf team by Coach Marsh. Over the course of her time as a student-athlete, Caroline earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Textile Engineering from the Wilson College of Textiles and was able to travel the country and the world while proudly representing the Wolfpack both on and off the links. During her undergraduate years, Caroline studied abroad in Vietnam and completed a research internship in Germany. She has also competed in the Mexican and Canadian Women’s Amateur Championships, US Mid-Amateur Championship, and the St Rule Trophy at St Andrew’s Links. Caroline resides in Raleigh with her Weimaraner (Birdie) and works as Line Review Director for the locally-based luxury apparel brand, Peter Millar. In her free time, Caroline enjoys pulling for the Wolfpack, being outside or on the water, and teeing it up with friends.
Rob Evans
Rob (Robby) Evans, played football for the Wolfpack from 1965-69 under Coach Earle Edwards. A three-time letterman, Evans was awarded what is now the Bo Rein Award for a player making a vital contribution in an unsung role during his senior year. He was also named to the All-ACC Academic team. Evans spent time teaching and coaching at Broughton High School as well as working in his family business before attending seminary and serving 35 years as a Presbyterian minister. Now retired, he lives in Knightdale, NC.
Jeff Gravley
Gravley joined NC State Athletics in January 2020 as Director of Content Strategy. His role includes creating stories and interviews relating to Wolfpack Athletics. He is also part of pregame radio for football and the weekly radio coach’s shows for football and basketball. He spent 35 years working in local TV, earning 7 regional Emmy Awards and was twice named NC Sportscaster of the Year. Jeff is a 1985 NC State graduate and a former walk-on baseball player for Coach Sam Esposito.
Brandon Johnson
Johnson was one of the lead golf course designers for the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from NC State in 1997 with a degree in landscape architecture and a minor in music and was awarded the 1997 ASLA Award. He received his master’s in landscape architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1999. Brandon joined the Arnold Palmer Design Company in 2006 where he was a lead designer for our course along with fellow alum Erik Larsen (‘77). As vice president, senior golf course architect and ASGCA associate member, he has worked on notable projects such as the 2012 remodel of Old Tabby Links at Spring Island (#67 Golfweek Top 100 Modern 2014), 2011 redesign of Wexford – Hilton Head Island (#67 Golfweek 2015 Top 100 Residential), and 2009 remodel of Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge (#48 Golfweek Top 100 Resorts).
Jim Kerns, Ph.D.
Kerns is a professor and extension specialist at NC State. His program focuses on etiology, epidemiology and management of turfgrass diseases. Kerns and his team, which includes three research and extension associates, and three M.S. students, provide improved disease management strategies to turfgrass managers in North Carolina and throughout the Southeastern United States. Kerns holds a bachelor of science from NC State in agronomy, a masters of science in soil and crop sciences from Texas A&M and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from NC State. After completing his Ph.D., Kerns was hired at UW-Madison as the turfgrass pathologist but returned to NC State in 2012 in his current role.
Page Marsh
Marsh enters her 22nd season at the helm of the NC State women’s golf program. After the program was dropped in 1986, she has made great strides in establishing a consistently competitive program in one of the toughest conferences in the nation since its reinstatement in 2000. With 10 tournament wins under her belt, the team has made 17 NCAA Regional appearances in the past 18 seasons and earned three NCAA Championship team berths. Fourteen players are currently on the professional circuit, including Brittany Marchand who currently owns full LPGA status. Her program has additionally excelled in the classroom with 13 WGCA/NGCA All-American Scholar selections. Marsh was inducted to the NC Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 for her contributions to golf in her home state and was inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 for her illustrious amateur career, which includes six NC Women’s Amateur titles, 12 US Women’s Amateur appearances, and three US Women’s Open appearances. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, she was a two-time All-ACC selection, an All American, and a 4 time MVP. After graduation, she pursued a professional career on the Futures Tour and Women’s Florida Golf Tour in 1986 and ’87. Marsh is also the mother of twin daughters.
Press McPhaul
McPhaul competed at NC State from 1991-96 and served as an assistant under recently retired Richard Sykes from 1998-2000. In 2017 Press McPhaul was named the head coach of the NC State men’s golf program after 11 seasons as head coach of East Carolina’s men’s golf program. During his tenure, eleven ECU golfers earned all-conference honors, and the Pirates won 12 tournament titles. Under McPhaul’s leadership, the Pirates additionally qualified for four NCAA Regionals (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016) and made one appearance in the NCAA Championships (2012): the first in the history of the ECU men’s golf program. Prior to his time at ECU, McPhaul was the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2000-06. He led the Commodores to three consecutive NCAA Regional and two NCAA Championships appearances. In total, McPhaul has led three different schools to the NCAA Finals including Vanderbilt, ECU, and NC State.
He coached four All-Americans and three All-America Scholars while in Nashville and in his first two years at NC State, had 3 All-Americans and 4 Academic All-Americans. McPaul has also coached 3 conference players of the year (SEC, CUSA, and ACC) and 6 players who have gone to the PGA tour, earning over $50 million dollars combined. Additionally, the 2018-19 NC State team finished the year with a 3.26 GPA earning outstanding academic team distinction by the golf coaches association of America
Wes Moore
One of the top head coaches in NCAA women’s basketball, Wes Moore has completed eight seasons as NC State head coach. Most recently, Moore led NC State to back-to-back ACC Tournament titles for the first time in program history. The team’s win in 2020 was its first conference tournament championship since 1991, and the team repeated in 2021. Moore spent 15 seasons (1998-2013) as the head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) where he led the Lady Mocs to 12 Southern Conference (SoCon) regular-season titles, nine SoCon tournament championships, and nine NCAA Tournament berths. While at UTC, Moore became the winningest coach in program and SoCon history. He came to Raleigh as the reigning SoCon Coach of the Year, an award he earned on six separate occasions. Moore is the first coach in history to advance three different teams to the NCAA Tournament at the Division I, II and III levels. From 1993-95, Moore served as women’s basketball assistant coach at NC State under legendary head coach Kay Yow. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Moore earned a bachelor’s degree from Johnson University and his master’s at Tennessee.
Lonnie C. Poole, Jr.
Poole is a philanthropist and founder of Waste Industries USA Inc. Poole has more than 30 years’ experience in the solid waste industry, serving his company in the capacities of chairman of the board, chief executive officer and director until his retirement in 2008. He has served in a number of leadership capacities for the Environmental Industry Association (EIA). He also serves on the board of directors for the NC State Foundation and currently serves as its vice-chairman, and he has been a significant contributor to the Poole College of Management and Lonnie Poole Golf Course. Poole is a past president of the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America and continues to serve on the Council Board of Directors. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from NC State and an M.B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Lou Pucillo
Pucillo is best known for being an outstanding college basketball player for the Wolfpack from 1956 to 1959. As a guard for the Wolfpack, he scored 944 points in 74 games. He was named first-team all-ACC and the ACC Tournament first-team in 1958, 1959, and was named the 1959 ACC Player of the Year. In 1959, Pucillo was drafted by St.Louis of the NBA, but played amateur basketball for the Wichita Vickers in the National Industrial League. A year later, he was named freshman basketball coach at NC State. In 1991, he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Pucillo and his wife Marcie have three children and grandchildren.
Koren Robinson
Robinson played college football at NC State before being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks as the 9th pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. Robinson also played for the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. He was selected to the Pro Bowl with the Vikings in 2005 where he also received the Ed Block Courage Award given by his teammates.
Richard Sykes
Sykes led the NC State’s Men’s Golf team for 46 years as head coach. During that time he was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2001 and was honored as a five-time ACC Coach of the Year (1982, 1988, 1990, 2000, and 2017). Sykes led the Wolfpack to the program’s first ACC championship in 1990 and recruited and coached Matt Hill, the Wolfpack men’s golf program’s first individual NCAA Champion (2009). NC State qualified for 23 NCAA Regionals and 12 NCAA Championships as a team during Sykes’ career as head coach, finishing seasons among the nation’s elite for over four decades. Sykes has coached six ACC Champions, two ACC Players of the Year, three ACC Rookies of the Year, 48 All-ACC selections and 34 All-Americans. Including regular season and postseason play, Sykes’ squads have won a total of 52 team tournament titles throughout his career, averaging more than one per season.
Nick Valvano
Nick Valvano holds a B.S in Business Administration and M.A. in Education from Rider University, where he played basketball. Upon graduation, he spent 10 years as a high school teacher and basketball coach. After leaving teaching he spent 22 years in sales and sales management positions with Xerox, Wang Laboratories, and Olivetti North America. In 1999 he assumed the role of CEO of the V Foundation for Cancer Research retiring in 2014.
Justin Walters
After a number of years playing in his homeland, Johannesburg, South Africa, and America, Walters graduated from the Challenge Tour in 2012 and finished a career-high 64th in the 2013 Race to Dubai. Has two runner-up finishes to his name on the European Tour – one being at the Portugal Masters in 2013 which secured his card for the following season. Half English, half South African, he was born in Johannesburg and was a two-time All American in his time at North Carolina State University.
Dewayne Washington
Dewayne was the 18th selection in the 1994 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He played 12 seasons in the NFL including four with the Vikings, six with the Pittsburgh Steelers, one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs. After his professional football career, Dewayne has worked in construction and commercial real estate development since retiring in 2005. He was the head football coach at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, NC from (2015-2017). While at Heritage he accumulated a 28-12 overall record and has the most wins in a single season with a 12-2 record. His past and current board affiliations include Ravenscroft Board of Trustees 2012-2016, Wake Med Board (2014-2016), Union Baptist Church Trustee Board (1999-2019), NC Board of Visitors (2010-2013), NCSU Foundation Board (2013-2016) and NCSU Board of Trustees (2016- Present). He is a proud graduate of NC State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Currently, he is a Partner NSV Development Company based in Durham, NC. Dewayne resides in Wake Forest, NC with his wife of 24 years, Adama. His son DJ works for J.P. Morgan in Miami, daughter Demi is a junior at Vanderbilt University and daughter Delaney is the senior class president at Ravenscroft school.
Roger Watson
Watson is a managing partner of Carolinas Golf Group, which manages seven facilities including the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. His golf career highlights were victories in the 1974 and 1975 PGA Club Professional Championships. The 1974 tournament at Pinehurst # 2 ended with a playoff win over Sam Snead. He won the 1969 N.C. Open, 1975 and 1976 Carolinas PGA Championships, and was voted the Carolinas Section Player of the Year both years. In 1997, he was inducted into the Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame and N.C. Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the High Point University Sports Hall Of Fame, the NAIA sports Hall of Fame, the Guilford County Sports Hall Of Fame, and the High Point High School Hall of Fame. As a businessman, he has founded five successful golf partnerships and developed some of the finest courses in NC. Lastly, he has been awarded membership into The Order of Long Leaf Pine Society by both Governor James Hunt and Governor Jim Holshouser, North Carolina’s highest civil award.
Dereck Whittenburg
Whittenburg was a member of the 1983 NC State National Championship basketball team. His slightly off-target shot/pass was grabbed by Lorenzo Charles for the game-winning dunk to defeat the University of Houston in the championship game. Whittenburg became an assistant coach at NC State in 1985. Over the next 15 years, he was an assistant at six different colleges:
NC State, George Mason University, West Virginia University, University of Colorado, Long Beach State University, and Georgia Tech. He was the head coach at Wagner College from 1999-2003 and Fordham from 2003-2009. He is now an assistant for NC State and was the executive producer for “Survive and Advance,” an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary.
Vann Williford
Williford is a Fayetteville, North Carolina native and CEO of Atlantic Coast Toyotalift. He graduated from NC State in 1970 with a bachelor of science in industrial engineering and was the first NC State basketball player to be signed by Coach Norm Sloan. He spent three years with the varsity team from 1968-1970, achieving All-Academic and All-Conference in 1968 and First Team All-Conference in both 1969 and 1970. Additionally, in 1970 Vann also was awarded the Case Award, ACC Tournament MVP, and First Team All-Tournament in the Eastern Regionals. Vann held an NCAA tournament scoring average of 35.5 points per game.
Scott Wood
Former NC State basketball player from 2009-2013. Sweet 16 participant in 2012. NC State’s all-time leader in 3 pointers made, games played, games started, and free throw percentage. Ranked 5th all-time in ACC 3 pointers made. Currently a mortgage lender at Northpointe Bank as well as running Scott Wood Shooting Academy in Apex, NC. Married to Toni Ann Wood, a former softball player at NC State. Two children daughter, Raleigh Wood and son Scott Wood III “Trey”