Tommy Burleson says, “I was never 7’4, I’ve always been 7’2″….Plus more on the ‘Newland Needle’…

N.C. State missed that chance to play North Carolina in the Elite Eight, when the Wolfpack got sent packing for Raleigh, by Kansas late last night and even though the Pack and Heels won’t meet on Sunday, Scott Fowler, of the Charlotte Observer, came up with some great historical notes on N.C. State and on Tommy Burleson in particular….Fowler also has notes how Lennie Rosenbluth could have ended up in Raleigh and how Chris Corchiani almost became a Tar Heel…..

Here is the inside on the ‘Newland Needle’ Tommy Burleson and how it is true, that TB was never 7’3 or 7’4, he was just 7’2 and N.C. State used his height as a marketing ploy and Lew Alcindor told Burleson to his face, that he was not 7’4 and TB told Kareem Abdul Jabbar that he was right, and that Tommy knew he was only 7’2…..Read below from the Charlotte Observer…..www.charlotteobserver.com…..

Tommey Burleson was always listed at 7-foot-4 at N.C. State. But he said that was a marketing gimmick and that he wasn’t that tall – he was never measured even once while in Raleigh, he said. His actual height, Burleson said, was 7-foot-2, and he wishes that he had been listed that way for his whole career in Raleigh.

CLICK HERE to read all on Burleson, Corchiani, Rosenbluth and more…..

*****Another interesting note on Burleson that caught my eye, was the fact that one observer told Burleson, “No wonder your tall, they measured you with your shoes on”….Burleson told the rocket scientist, “I play with my shoes on”……*****