The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1318516
22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Monroe looks exactly the same as he did when head coach Les Robinson handed him his framed jersey on March 2, 1991, in a pregame ceremony before the duo's final game at Reynolds Coliseum. The only thing he's gained since then is worldly experience and a fully shaved head. Corchiani is still athletic, with a head full of hair, but maybe not quite as svelte in his 52-year-old version. "Rodney, I didn't come all this way for a just a picture," Corchiani said. "What kind of gear do you have?" "Sorry, Chris, our equipment supplier only gives us small, medium and large," Monroe answered, with a completely straight face under his mask. Who's on Fire now? Throughout his two-hour practice, Mon- roe never once raises his voice, even when he had to make an important point through his SouthLake-branded Under Armor mask. He never needed to. His players — includ- ing his youngest son, 15-year-old Christian — listen intently, if only vaguely aware that their coach is some kind of basketball leg- end. (Monroe has produced multiple college players, including his two older sons, Myles and Madison. He has a seven-footer on this year's team and Christian is the team's lead- ing scorer.) Corchiani, the son of an accomplished high school coach, watches practice with great interest, having been through several thousand of them with his dad, his older brother Gabe, himself, and his daughter and four sons, one of whom (Christopher Jr.) played at NC State and another of whom (Tommy) played at South Carolina. The thing that amazed him the most: He remembered meeting Christian for the first time in Italy, when Monroe's youngest child was just 3 months old, and Fire and Ice were playing professional basketball in the shadow of Vesuvius. The Records They Broke It's been 30 years, y'all. Three decades since Monroe scored 24 points in a 60-59, nationally televised vic- tory at Connecticut on Feb. 16, 1991, to surpass two-time National Player of the Year David Thompson as the all-time lead- ing scorer at NC State and in the ACC. There was no pomp or circumstance when he made the record-breaking basket. After the game, in which Monroe scored 16 of the Wolfpack's final 22 points, he didn't even know which shot broke the mark Thompson set in three years of varsity play. It was probably fitting, though, that Cor- chiani needed to chip in for the Wolfpack to win that game, hitting two free throws to provide the winning margin with 20.9 seconds to play. In his next game, Monroe single-hand- edly outscored Virginia's entire team, 31-30, in the second half of an 83-76, comeback win at Reynolds Coliseum, putting an ex- The ACC's All-Time Scoring Leaders Player School Points Games Played 1. Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina 2,872 142 2. J.J. Redick Duke 2,769 139 3. Rodney Monroe NC State 2,551 124 4. Bryant Stith Virginia 2,516 128 5. Christian Laettner Duke 2,460 148 Monroe became the second NC State player to score more than 2,000 points, and eventually broke two- time National Player of the Year David Thompson's ACC and school scoring records. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS