FLYING HIGH

FSU players stepped off a plane carrying the runner-up trophy after the 1972 NCAA Championship Game. G Ron King, who scored 22 points against North Carolina in the semifinals and 27 against UCLA, summed up the team’s feelings: “We really wanted to beat them, and you can’t be happy about losing. But we showed a lot of people we can play with UCLA.” The moment captured both the pride of their historic run and the sting of falling just short of the national title.