Samuel Salvador "Sam" Ranzino (June 21, 1927 – March 13, 1994) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 college and professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He was an All-American

NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The NCAA Men's Basketball All-American teams are honorary teams made up of those NCAA basketball players voted the best in the country by a variety of organizations.-History:...

 guard at North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

 and played one season in the NBA with the Rochester Royals

Rochester Royals

The franchise that would become the Sacramento Kings initially started in the city of Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League....

.

Ranzino starred at Emerson High School

Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts

Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts is a seven year school for the visual and performing arts, located in the Miller Beach neighborhood of Gary, Indiana, in the United States...

 in Gary, Indiana

Gary, Indiana

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...

 and was recruited to NC State

NC State Wolfpack men's basketball

The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Wolfpack currently competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, of which it was a founding member....

 by coach Everett Case

Everett Case

Everett N. Case , nicknamed "Gray Fox", was a basketball coach most notable for his tenure at North Carolina State University, from 1946 to 1964....

, who also hailed from Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. Ranzino led the Wolfpack to four consecutive Southern Conference

Southern Conference

The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...

 basketball titles and the school's first Final Four appearance in 1950

1950 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1950 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 23, 1950, and ended with the championship game on March 28 in New York City, New York...

. Individually, Ranzino received All-American mention in 1950 and was a consensus first-team All-American in 1951

1951 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

The Consensus 1951 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of five major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, Look Magazine, The United Press International,...

. Ranzino scored 1,967 points in his career, a mark that stood until 1975 when it was broken by David Thompson

David Thompson (basketball)

David O'Neil Thompson is a former American professional basketball star with the Denver Nuggets of both the National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association , as well as the Seattle SuperSonics...

. Ranzino's number 77 is honored by NC State and hangs in the rafters of the RBC Center.

After completing his college career, Ranzino was selected by the Rochester Royals in the first round (8th pick overall) of the 1951 NBA Draft

1951 NBA Draft

The 1951 NBA Draft was the fifth annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 25, 1951 before the 1951–52 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. In each round, the teams select in reverse...

. He played one season for the Royals, averaging 2.2 points per game.

Sam Ranzino was elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.