I’ve been fortunate to get seats behind the N.C. State bench for the last three years, but sadly this basketball season, the view has been much different. It’s not coaching and personnel changes that make the scene less enjoyable — forget them.

Small in stature, big in heart and larger-than-life in influence, Gregory Parrish, age 12, was a familiar face to Wolfpack fans all over the nation — he was the biggest little fan.

But this year, the RBC Center is missing the most dedicated and faithful fan a team could ever hope to have. Gregory Parrish died of brain cancer this September.

He was as familiar of a sight as the block ‘S’ logo at center court — he just never missed games. Home or away, Greg could always be found stationed right behind the State bench, watching and cheering on the Pack. Within the three years he spent with the team, he deeply touched the lives of several State’s players and coaches.

With each story shared, it’s become apparent that Greg wasn’t just a patron, but a member of the team — he was one of the guys.

One time, Greg was in the team huddle and as it was about to break, he interrupted former coach’s Herb Sendek three-count with his own “1, 2, 3!”

He always rode the team bus. There, each player talked to him as one of them. They picked and needled each other, and Greg was more than capable of making a comeback.

Greg was in the locker room after about a 20-point victory when Julius Hodge came in, yelling about how the Pack should have won by far more and blown the other team out. Greg replied something along the lines of “Jules, we kind of did,” and laughter filled the room.

In life, I never met him. But my admiration continues to grow after stories like this. That — and his knack for humor — garnered him the affection of all that came in contact with him.

It was a wonderful relationship between him and the players. Unknowingly, Greg served as an inspiration to them — they saw unfathomable courage, strength and toughness displayed daily by the youngster.

And unknowingly, the team gave him a place where he was at ease, a place where he wasn’t a terminally ill child, but one of the guys.

Often, I saw Greg slap both hands on his head in disbelief at yet another blown foul call. It was here that he would use a disability of his as leverage, telling the referee, “I could’ve called that one ref and I’m blind!”

Indeed, he was legally blind, and had a lot of other symptoms as a result of chemotherapy and medications. But most of these health problems, and certainly the extent of them, were unbeknownst to me until recently. As it turns out, the pains stemming from his cancer were nearly as obvious as his red autographed NCSU baseball cap and red wig.

And I always sat about 10 feet behind him, but sure couldn’t tell. Heck, how could anyone from that standpoint?

With so much to be in pain about, all we could see is a missed wide-open three pointer pained him more than us. With so much to be upset about, he was more upset at a State loss.

Though we might have been unaware of his symptoms, no student was ever left in the dark about Greg’s love, his genuine devotion and complete passion for this school and its teams.

In fact, the whole thing started when Greg turned down tickets to a Duke basketball game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, saying he was a State fan. Days later, former coach Herb Sendek would give the Parrish family a call inviting Greg to one of the team’s games. And the rest was history.

Once, Greg told a doctor, right before performing brain surgery, that he needed to make it fast because he had a basketball game to go to. Greg made it to the game two days later, with a bandage on his head, cheering on thePack.

Sendek spoke at the funeral, and so elegantly put it, “Perhaps he was sent by coach Valvano, because he made us all laugh, cry and think.”

Every now and then we get these reality checks in sports – things that cause us to step back from the sport and see an individual, not a stat box. In their lives there are wins and losses far greater than those on the field.

Continue to pray for the Parrish family, because nobody lost more that day than they did.

After talking with those close to him, and reading various memories from former players like Ilian Evtimov — I believe it was also a loss for those who didn’t know him. We missed out.

Our fans have been almost too acquainted with these reality checks, as cancer has filtered its way into State’s sports headlines.

Kay Yow has beaten it twice and will now face it again. Jim Valvano could not beat it in life, but his foundation continues the fight in his memory.

I believe Greg should be placed in company with Yow and Valvano, but not because of what they suffer and suffered from. Rather, each of these great people loved this University and each of their lives has been inspirational to those around them — they should be spoken of in the same breath.

And it is my wish that our University can remember him in some fashion. Please, dedicate something in his name, present a plaque to his parents — and on behalf of the students at State, thank you both for sharing your son with us — even a moment of silence would be fitting for a young man who left us all too soon, but the memory of him will not.

Gregory Parrish has a far better seat than courtside for this year’s basketball games. I’m sure he won’t miss a single one. As he looks on from above, let us honor the biggest little fan that this University ever had.