The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1043000
NOVEMBER 2018 ■ 91 and the Pack showed up with nine players, with little chance to pull off what might have been a decent ACC upset. Yet the Pack stayed close throughout the game, and took a 71-69 victory, thanks to a pair of last-second free throws by Rodney Monroe, a guy who was, fittingly, nick- named "Ice." "The odds were stacked completely against us, and there was no reason to think after all we had been through, not just that game, but that season, that we would be ready to play," said Chris Corchiani, then a sophomore point guard. "No one thought we could win under those circumstances. "But Coach V loved it. He kept saying, 'We're just like the Marines — all we need is a few good men.' And that's why we all had come to NC State to play for him. He thrived on those situations, and he made us thrive on them too." Few teams in ACC history endured more and still thrived the way the 1988-89 Wolfpack team did. The expectations for NC State were not high when the season started, but the Wolfpack came within one ill-timed traveling call from the NCAA East Regional championship and the chance to return to the Final Four. After winning 12 of its first 13 games, the Pack was ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation, though it was hardly the most talented team Valvano ever fielded. "Our sum is better than its parts," he said. One of those wins, over Temple in Reyn- olds Coliseum on Jan. 7, 1989, was the turning point of the season and the future of NC State basketball. Valvano's team beat John Chaney's unranked Owls 71-59, but the impressive nationally televised victory was overshad- owed by two items: the debut of Nike's uniform of the future, the Unitard (which the Wolfpack players wore for two games with shorts over the skin-tight garment be- fore abandoning it), and a front-page news- paper story about the upcoming release of a book called Personal Fouls: The Broken Promises and Shattered Dreams of Big Money Basketball at Jim Valvano's North Carolina State. Though the most outrageous allega- tions were eventually discredited, Valvano admitted he was in a deep funk, hardly the wise-cracking, ebullient personality NC State fans had known and loved for nine years. He closed ranks, pulled his team together and concentrated on suc- ceeding on the court. "The players have been my support sys- tem," Valvano said. "When adversity hit, they were my comfort." It wasn't always easy, even with his few good men. Valvano called on Corchiani to run the ultimate junk defense on center Tom Hammonds to beat the No. 19 Yellow Jack- ets in Reynolds Coliseum and pulled off the unlikely upset in Atlanta a month later. The Pack had home-and-home splits with North Carolina and Duke, both of which were ranked in the top 15 all season long. An 86-65 loss at Duke put a dent in its ACC title hopes, but a 110-103 quadruple- overtime marathon win over Wake Forest — the longest game ever played between ACC teams — in the final contest in the old configuration of the Greensboro Coliseum left the Wolfpack by itself at the top of the ACC standings, with a 10-4 record, for the first time since 1974. Valvano's point guard, sophomore Chris Cor- chiani, led the ACC in both assists (8.6 per game) and steals (2.6 per contest) en route All-ACC accolades in 1988-89. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS "If it's possible to have something good come out of this adversity, it's the closeness we felt as a team. I don't think I have ever been prouder of any team I ever coached." ■ Valvano 1988-89 ACC Standings ACC Overall School W-L Pct. W-L Pct. NC State 10-4 .714 22-9 .710 Duke 9-5 .643 28-8 .778 Virginia 9-5 .643 22-11 .667 North Carolina 9-5 .643 29-8 .784 Georgia Tech 8-6 .571 20-12 .625 Clemson 7-7 .500 19-11 .633 Wake Forest 3-11 .214 13-15 .464 Maryland 1-13 .071 9-20 .310 1988-89 NC State Basketball Results (22-9 OVERALL, 10-4 ACC) Date Opponent Result Nov. 26 Columbia W, 110-54 Nov. 28 Akron W, 87-67 Dec. 3 at Southern Methodist L, 59-57 Dec. 20 Alabama State W, 109-81 Dec. 22 Coppin State W, 100-67 Dec. 27 Monmouth W, 95-50 Dec. 30 VMI W, 105-79 Jan. 2 Towson W, 83-77 Jan. 5 at Clemson* W, 73-65 Jan. 7 Temple W, 71-59 Jan. 12 Coastal Carolina W, 97-69 Jan. 14 Georgia Tech* W, 82-68 Jan. 18 Wake Forest* W, 82-64 Jan. 21 at North Carolina* L, 84-81 Jan. 26 Duke* W, 88-73 Jan. 29 at Maryland* W, 90-67 Feb. 1 at Virginia* L, 91-71 Feb. 4 at DePaul L, 81-74 Feb. 9 North Carolina* W, 98-88 Feb. 12 UNLV L, 89-80 Feb. 15 Clemson* W, 90-75 Feb. 18 at Georgia Tech* W, 71-69 Feb. 20 UNC Asheville W, 90-75 Feb. 23 at Duke* L, 86-65 Feb. 26 Virginia* L, 76-75 Mar. 2 Maryland* W, 94-77 Mar. 4 at Wake Forest* W, 110-103 (4OT) Mar. 10 vs. Maryland^ L, 71-49 Mar. 17 vs. South Carolina$ W, 81-66 Mar. 19 vs. Iowa$ W, 102-96 (2OT) Mar. 24 vs. Georgetown! L, 69-61 *ACC game; ^ ACC Tournament at The Omni in Atlanta; $ NCAA Tournament at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.; ! NCAA Tournament at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.