Monte Corwin Towe (born September 27, 1953) is an American basketball coach and retired basketball 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. His hometown is Converse, Indiana. Towe attended Oak Hill High School in Converse, graduating in 1971. 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. As a quarterback, he led the Oak Hill football team to two undefeated seasons, for a total of eighteen consecutive victories. He attended North Carolina State University, graduating with a B.A. in 1975. At NC State, he played varsity basketball from 1972 through 1975 and varsity baseball from 1972 through 1974. His roommate was Tommy Burleson. College basketball When he first arrived on campus at North Carolina State University to play varsity basketball, Towe was considered "a novelty, or another publicity gimmick, much like a midget in Barnum & Bailey's" because of his the five foot seven inch (1.7 m) height. At the time, Towe said, "I've never thought a small man couldn't play sports. I just figure what I lack physically I can make up for mentally—with mental toughness." Towe played much of his sophomore season with a broken wrist and a broken nose. Towe, along with David Thompson, is credited with inventing the long pass or alley-oop. 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. As a result, the UPI selected Towe for its small-American team after his sophomore year. 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. He was the team's assist leader with five or more assists in ten games. He had eleven assists in the game against Furman University. Towe was recognized by his selection for the All-ACC team and the all-NCAA Finals team. His senior year, Towe received the 1975 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the year's best college player under tall. In 2016,