Clyde “The Glide” Austin was smooth, sometimes to his own detriment.
The former NC State point guard (1976-80) and Harlem Globetrotter was a legendary recruit from Richmond’s Maggie L. Walker High School, where he scored 2,158 pre-3-pointer points over a four-year career.
When he was signed by head coach Norm Sloan, he was one of the top 5 high school guards in the nation, arriving prepackaged with his iconic nickname and trademark golden front tooth. Many hoped he would return the Wolfpack back to the top of the college basketball world in the aftermath of the high-scoring David Thompson–Kenny Carr eras.
And he came so, so close before ultimately becoming a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Draft, following a college career in which he scored 1,383 points and a then-school record 473 assists.
According to several family members, Austin died of a heart attack on Aug. 16 at his home near Las Vegas. He was 67.
Austin was a key component in one of Sloan’s top recruiting classes, which included DeMatha Catholic star Charles “Hawkeye” Whitney; Lebanon, Indiana, guard Brian Walker, whose brother Steve stared 12 games as a freshman the previous season; and Brevard (Florida) Junior College transfer Tony Warren of Raleigh.
Austin and the younger Walker were rated among the best guards in the nation, setting Sloan’s Pack up for a bright end of the 1970s, especially as they meshed with Whitney, the burly forward who continued Sloan’s successful pipeline from the Washington, D.C., area.
The four years of Austin’s career didn’t exactly end up as a golden era of Wolfpack hoops. They, in fact, came at the end of Sloan’s 14-year tenure at his alma mater, before the coach bolted back to Florida.
The memories, however, were delightful, as Austin glided from play to play, spot to spot, with a quickness and style that few have ever matched.
Remarkably versatile, Austin led the Wolfpack assists (5.0), steals (1.9) and free-throw percentage (.738) as a freshman, in rebounding (3.5) as a sophomore , in scoring (14.4) as a junior and field-goal percentage (.511) as a senior.
He was also involved in some of the most memorable plays in Wolfpack men’s basketball history. As a sophomore, he was the leader of a team that did not make the NCAA Tournament, but advanced to the finals of the 1978 National Invitation Tournament.
In overtime of the semifinals against Georgetown, in front of 18,504 fans at Madison Square, the Wolfpack watched helplessly as Craig Shelton gave the Hoyas a one-point lead by converting a conventional three-point play with just six seconds to play. Sloan called a timeout and gave a simple instruction: “Give it to Clyde and go.”
Austin intended to drive to the basket, but barely crossed midcourt when he let fly a 35-foot running jumpshot that swished through the basket, putting the Wolfpack in a national title game for the second time in five years. (The NCAA tourney had 32 teams at the time and the NIT had 16.)
Austin and the Pack lost to Texas in the final game.
As a junior, when he was named the Most Valuable Player at the inaugural Sea Wolf Classic (later the Great Alaska Shootout), Austin was at the center of one of the most infamous plays in NC State basketball history.
After storming back from a 21-point first half deficit at Reynolds Coliseum, the Wolfpack took a one-point lead against the No. 2 Tar Heels. UNC’s Dudley Bradley missed a jumper in the lane on one end of the court with 15 seconds to play, the Wolfpack got the rebounds and Austin tried to run out the clock, right in front of State’s bench. He made the mistake of turning his back on Bradley, the UNC defensive specialist stole the ball and ran down the court for a game-winning dunk, a loss that has haunted Pack fans for nearly half a century.
Much was forgiven, however, in the final home game of Austin’s career. He and Whitney cooked up a special play in practice before the game and, just seven minutes in, they were able to pull it off.
Austin got a halfcourt lead pass, took a stride towards the baseline and whipped the ball in between his legs to a streaking Whitney for a dunk. Whitney scored 26 of the Pack’s 63 points in the victory over the No. 8 Heels.
Three years later, Lowe paid homage to his freshman year mentor by completing a similar between the legs pass to teammate Thurl Bailey in a victory over the defending national champion Tar Heels that was the fuse that ignited the Wolfpack’s 1983 NCAA title.
Though Austin did not stick in either the NBA or CBA, he did have a successful career with the legendary Harlem Globetrotters. He had befriended Trotter star Twiggy Sanders, who grew up in Raleigh and often worked out with Sloan’s Wolfpack. Sanders helped Austin get a spot on one of the Globies traveling teams and Austin eventually became captain of his squad.
Throughout the end of his college career and into his professional career, Austin lived in Raleigh and was the minister of a church in Garner before eventually moving to Las Vegas. He often spoke of his deep faith and desire to help those less fortunate than him.
However, several attempts at building financial wealth for members of his church turned into a national pyramid scheme that defrauded his parishioners of some $16 million. He was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison in 2004. He was released early and began working at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
With his golden grin and his penchant for big plays, Austin was remembered fondly, at least for his college playing career.
“I keep my smile,” Austin once said. “If somebody saw me, and I wasn’t smiling, they’d know something was wrong.”
Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected]
