NC State's Moxley back at work after health scare

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- May 6 was like any other day for North Carolina State men's basketball assistant coach Rob Moxley, but then it wasn't.

"It was a very scary moment for me and my family for sure," he said.

He started having trouble walking down the stairs and has no memory of what happened next - his wife called 911 in a call that saved his life - until he woke up in a Raleigh hospital.

The 46-year-old Moxley was hospitalized for several days and was on medical leave for a time.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Moxley said he had complications from diabetes that ultimately led to him going into cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He also had "a few strokes."

"But I've fought through it," Moxley said. "I've rehabbed. And I'm back and I'm back full-time working here at State where I want to be, where I love to be. It's just I'm blessed to be sure, that's for sure."

In July, head coach Mark Gottfried sounded unsure exactly when Moxley would be ready to return, saying "what he needs right now is just some time to hopefully continue to get better." At the time, director of basketball operations Jeff Dunlap had assumed Moxley's recruiting duties.

But Moxley, who initially had problems with his vision afterward, was able to return to the recruiting trail by late summer, including a trip to Las Vegas.

Moxley has been an assistant known as a tireless recruiter for the Wolfpack since Gottfried's arrival before the 2011-12 season. N.C. State is coming off a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and a second appearance in the Sweet 16, a run reversing the program's long-running struggles that included missing the NCAAs in 15 of 21 seasons since Jim Valvano coached his final game in 1990.

Before arriving at N.C. State, Moxley worked as an assistant at Middle Tennessee State, Charlotte, Maryland, Pfeiffer and Gardner-Webb. During the Charlotte and Pfeiffer stops, he coached under current Wolfpack associate head coach Bobby Lutz.