NC State captivated the basketball world this past Saturday when they pulled off an upset over No.1, Duke. As expected, the students rushed the court including a guy in a wheelchair, Will Privette.
In an interview with USA Today, Privette told them that he had rushed the court back in 2010 when NC State beat Duke, but that time he had waited untill the major pack of people had already made it on the court.
This year, Privette was almost the first person on the court as he rushed from the bottom right part of the GIF. He went straight to the middle of the court, where unfortunately his wheelchair tipped over (as you can see from the video below).
Luckily, Wolfpack forward C.J. Leslie, who finished as the top scorer of the game, had his eagle eye out after the game and was able to spot Privette.
Via Nicole Auerbach of USA Today:
“C.J. Leslie was in the middle (of the crowd) and he saw me. I knew him from being around campus. He pushed everyone back and told everyone, “Get back, get back.” Once everyone moved and realized what was going on, he picked me up and I’ve described it as like how you’d hold a baby. Once I realized I wasn’t in trouble any more, I started to scream, like “Wooooo! Let’s go!” C.J. held me for a little bit because we lost my wheelchair in the sea of people. He held me for a couple of minutes. I was screaming and yelling.”
Apparently Leslie is good on and off the field and happens to always be where you need him to be. Here is Privette filming the event as it unfolded.
[Photo: Oliver Sholder] [HT: @Willbrinson]