At the end of the year, Wolfpack Nation will have to say goodbye to one of its most memorable duos of the past three years.

For the past two years, senior Staats Battle and junior Chase Cannon have made their presence felt around campus as the “Battle-Cannon,” poking fun at their teammates and the media on their way to fame amongst the NC State student body.

As with most great inventions, the idea for the Battle-Canon stemmed from boredom.

Lost in the zoo that was Media Day 2012, Battle and Cannon sat alone in their assigned stations, watching silently while standouts like Richard Howell and CJ Leslie were swarmed by reporters, desperate for a quote from the Wolfpack stars.

“The walk-ons were like little islands—no one ever comes up to us,” Battle said. “So we picked up pens and acted like they were microphones, trying to be funny. We started interviewing the guys just to waste time.”

Little did the two know, their random act of boredom would be the start of an NC State sensation.

“Our video coordinator started filming us,” Battle said. “We watched it later and thought it was funny, so we came up with the Battle-Cannon.”

At the team’s next media day, Battle and Cannon made their first official video to release on the web, and it was an instant hit. Since then, the two have made 10 more videos, each gaining more and more traction with the fans.

“We just kept doing videos, and it got bigger and bigger,” Cannon said.

As the videos became more and more popular, Battle and Cannon said the Battle-Cannon became a part of their identity around campus.

“My freshman year, I won the ESPN coolest name,” Battle said. “People used to say ‘Oh, you’re Staats Battle, ESPN’s coolest name.’ Now it’s changed to ‘Oh, you’re Staats from Battle-Cannon.’ People forget about the name.”

Oddly enough, before meeting at NC State in 2012, Battle and Cannon had an interesting early connection.

“[Our parents] tried to get us to play basketball together when we were kids, but we never did,” Cannon said. “All of a sudden, I come to NC State, and I’m going through the tryout process, and I meet him. It was kind of weird, putting two and two together like, ‘This was the guy I was supposed to be playing pick-up with.’”

When the two met again, Cannon was working to join Battle as a member of the Pack.

The duo said they would often play in two-on-two drills as a part of the walk-on process, but neither would give a definitive answer on who usually came out on top.

“It depends on who you ask,” Battle said. “There were four of us, and we would switch around the teams. Three of us ended up 3-1, and the other guy went 0-4.”

Once Battle and Cannon were both on the roster, the duo was tasked with playing the role of other teams during practice.

As the years passed, the duo went from being rookies to two of the team’s most tenured members. This season, Battle and Cannon were the only players who had been on the Pack’s active roster for more than two years.

As veterans, the pair took on more of a leadership role in practices, giving advice to the younger players with a lack of experience in high tension situations.

When the team journeyed to the NCAA Tournament, Battle and Cannon said they were quick to remind the younger players of the significance of the Big Dance.

“One thing is just reminding the guys it’s win or go home—everything is on the line every time you play,” Battle said. “Coach Gottfried always says it’s the greatest show on Earth. It’s a lot more fun watching the games when you’re a part of it then when you lose.”

Now, after three years of basketball and laughs, the Battle-Cannon is splitting. Battle will graduate in May and said he will continue playing basketball while pursuing a graduate degree overseas.

Cannon, on the other hand, will play his fourth season with the team despite graduating early this May.