Monte Towe

Monte Corwin Towe (born September 27, 1953) is an American former basketball coach and professional player. He was a starting point guard on the 1973–74 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team which won the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. At five feet seven inches, Towe is also one of the ten shortest players in NBA history.

Early life

Towe was born in Marion, Indiana. There, he played golf, shooting in the eighties. He also starred on the basketball team, baseball team, and football team—earning All-Area honors for the latter two.

He attended North Carolina State University, graduating with a B.A. in 1975. His roommate was Tommy Burleson. Because dunking was illegal at the time, Towe would throw the basketball to Thompson while he was in the air and Thompson would gently drop the ball in the basket.

In his junior year, Towe was the starting point guard on 1973–74 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team which won the 1974 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

In 2016, the 1974 Men's Basketball Team was inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame.

College baseball At NC State, Towe also played varsity baseball, covering second base for his first five games in the spring of 1972. However, he got a late start to the season because he was still playing basketball.

Pro basketball career

Towe was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the third round of the 1975 ABA Draft and by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round (3rd pick, 57th overall) of the 1975 NBA draft. Towe joined NC State teammate David Thompson in signing with Denver under coach Larry Brown on June 17, 1975.

He coached professional teams associated with the Global Basketball Association in the 1990s, including being the head coach of the Raleigh Bullfrogs from 1991 to 1992 and head coach of the Fayetteville Flyers from 1992 to 1993.

Awards and honors

NC State Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 1974 Men's Basketball Team, 2016 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, 2002 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, 1975