An Inspirational Pass
NC State men’s basketball senior Breon Pass overcame a difficult loss as a teenager before he came to play for the Wolfpack. Four years later, he remembers his inspiration for earning a degree in sport management.
Breon Pass was playing online video games with his friends one summer evening nearly six years ago at his family’s home in Reidsville, North Carolina.
“Curtis, what’s the matter?” he heard his mother scream from the other room to her husband.
Breon dropped everything to go see about his father and his Reidsville High School basketball coach, Curtis Pass, only to find him collapsed on the bed. The son was there long enough to hear his dad say “I love you.”
And for Breon to tell him “goodbye.”
Curtis Pass was only 41 years old when he suffered cardiac arrest and died on June 21, 2019. Just the day before, he was talking to his son, a three-sport standout, about the opportunities he would have to be recruited by major colleges and the chances he would have to earn a college degree.
He never got to see his only son play college basketball, as Curtis had done at both NCAA Division I Old Dominion and Division II West Georgia a couple of decades ago.
And he won’t see Breon receive his College of Natural Resources degree in sports management from NC State. He will, however, get credit for being Breon’s motivation for playing major college basketball and earning the degree Curtis Pass never finished.
“I’ll be proud to walk across the stage with my mom (Nakia) and older sister (Bria) in front of me,” Breon Pass says. “Of course, I wish my dad was here. This is something he wanted for me because he didn’t get to do it.
“He always wanted me to graduate from a university.”
The four-year player for the Wolfpack — a rarity in today’s world of college basketball — will share his story with fellow student-athletes before Saturday’s commencement at the athletics department celebration as a featured speaker, along with women’s basketball player and first-round WNBA draft pick Aziaha James.
That, too, is something that would have made his father proud.
“The high school Breon Pass my father knew would have been nervous and shy to talk in front of even 10 people,” Pass says. “To stand up and talk in front of hundreds of others will be something special.
“I’ll still be nervous, but I’ve been practicing. I’m honored to be chosen.”
Pass was a standout receiver in football for Reidsville High, helping his team win back-to-back North Carolina High School 2A championships his junior and senior seasons. He also played baseball.
Basketball, however, was always his true passion, and he wanted to follow in the squeaks of his father’s sneakers.
He never became a star for the Wolfpack — the first of his two career starts was on Senior Night against Pittsburgh. In 116 games, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. He sparkled in his final game at the Lenovo Center, scoring a career-high 14 points with four 3-pointers.
Yet he leaves school having won an ACC championship in 2024 and having appeared in two NCAA tournaments.
In the modern era of Name, Image and Likeness payment opportunities and transfer portal rules — where players have unfettered chances to play at multiple schools — Pass will be one of just eight Atlantic Coast Conference men’s players who will graduate this spring from the school where he first enrolled without ever transferring.
“It’s been a great four years,” Pass says. “I’ve had a great experience. It has been a little different, the way college basketball works now, but something people don’t always appreciate is the opportunity I have had to meet and get to know so many different people.
“A lot of players transfer in and out, but those are all relationships you can keep for the rest of your life. That’s a good thing.”
Every step of the way has been a learning experience, and he knows enough to give some advice to the next generation of college basketball players, especially those fortunate enough to earn NIL money during their careers.
“To see how it’s changed is kind of crazy, the amount of money that some kids are getting now,” he says. “As much as I believe NIL is a blessing, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to always just chase the money.
“A school still has to be a great fit for you. All money is not good money. You have to be careful what you choose. For me, staying here for several years helped me have a great connection with the coach and staff. I’m leaving here with great relationships.”
It’s all been part of an experiential education that goes beyond what he has learned in class, especially in terms of financial management.
For me, staying here for several years helped me have a great connection with the coach and staff. I’m leaving here with great relationships.
“One day the NIL will run out, so you have to use it wisely while you’ve got it because you can turn what you are making into something bigger,” he says. “You have to invest in yourself first. Invest in things that are important. There’s nothing wrong with buying stuff that you might want, a pair of shoes or some clothes.
“But you have to learn to be smart with your money.”
Pass hopes to follow his father’s career path to go into coaching, something that he once doubted would be possible in the aftermath of his father’s untimely death.
“I definitely had my moments when I doubted whether I could or should keep playing basketball. My faith in God helped me get back on track, and my father was my motivation.
“It was hard, but something I’m glad I can talk to others about now.”
