Cozell McQueen, a cornerstone of North Carolina State’s 1983 “Cardiac Pack” championship team, died Wednesday at age 64.
No cause of death has been confirmed.
The 6-foot-11 legend played for NC State from 1981-85, when he became an extremely dependable rebounder and defender.
His defensive prowess showed when he was tasked with helping to defend Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1983 championship game. In total, he played 134 games for the Wolfpack, the fourth most in program history, and started in 75 straight games, the ninth most in program history.
The most famous image of McQueen is one of him standing on the rim in celebration, holding a sign that read “Pack Power” after the Wolfpack completed their miraculous run under coach Jim Valvano to their second and most recent national title, defeating Houston at the buzzer.
Ernie Myers joined McQueen sitting on the backboard as players rushed to cut the nets down.
After his illustrious college career, McQueen was selected 91st overall in the fourth round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the Bucks.
He saw time with the Pistons and Trail Blazers, but wound up spending most of his ten pro seasons in Europe, including stops in his birth country of France along with Italy and Spain.
McQueen was inducted into the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame, alongside the rest of the 1983 championship team, in 2019.
The team was celebrated at the White House with then-president Barack Obama in 2016 and welcomed back to campus several times, most recently in 2023 for the 40th anniversary of the championship. They were featured in ESPN’s 30 for 30 “Survive and Advance” documentary.
McQueen was born in Paris and grew up in Bennettsville, South Carolina.
