The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 ■ 23 clamation point on his career achievement. A week later, Corchiani broke the NCAA assist record in a 90-82 win at Tennessee on Feb. 25, 1991, overtaking Syracuse guard Sherman Douglas' mark. The game did stop, however, for referee Dick Paparo — one of the guard's mortal officiating enemies — to hand Corchiani the game ball, a forced gesture Robinson arranged before the game without Paparo's consent. "I told Chris I would hand him a ball at our next home game so the fans there could celebrate it with him, but I was going to make Paparo hand him the ball against Tennessee," Robinson recalled with a great laugh. Fittingly, Corchiani had 13 assists in the game, matching the jersey number that hangs in the rafters of PNC Arena beside Monroe's 21. In the Wolfpack's next game, Corchiani doled out 20 dimes against Mary- land to become the first player in NCAA history to reach 1,000 career assists. "I'll enjoy it 15 years from now when I'm old and can't play anymore and my kids don't think I ever played basketball," Corchiani said after that game. "I'll tell them about it." It's cute now, in retrospect, that 22-year- old Corchiani would have considered him- self old at the age of 37. Both records have since been broken: Corchiani's the next season by Duke's Bobby Hurley and Monroe's twice, by Duke's J.J. Redick (2,769) and North Caro- lina's Tyler Hansbrough (2,872). In both cases, it took remarkable players, with re- markable teams, playing more games, to break them. "Man, oh, man — Fire and Ice," Robin- son, who was in his first year as Jim Valva- no's successor at NC State during Corchiani and Monroe's senior season, recently said. "They were the best set of guards that ever were. There may have been some better individually, but there has never been a set like them together." Robinson removed all reins on his inher- ited stars, as well as junior Tom Gugliotta, and the Wolfpack had the fourth-highest scoring average (89.3 points per game) in school history during his 20-11 debut sea- son. The top three were in Thompson's three seasons of varsity play (92.9 in 1972-73, 92.7 in 1974-75 and 91.4 in 1973-74). While their senior season ended with a second-round loss in the NCAA Tourna- ment to Oklahoma State, they left school on top of the world, both headed to play profes- sional basketball for more than a decade, in the NBA and in the European professional leagues. When they retired — Corchiani in 2002 and Monroe in 2007 — both returned to North Carolina, settling down to raise their families in the state they were recruited to by Valvano, Monroe from Hagerstown, Md., and Corchiani from Coral Gables, Fla. The Struggles Along the Way Both believe that coming to NC State to play for Valvano and to end their careers under Robinson was the best thing they ever did, even though there were some pitfalls along the way. That started with the first time they played pickup basketball together at NC State's Carmichael Gym. Both had played point guard in high school, and both wanted to play that premier spot in Valvano's program, following in the footsteps of Sidney Lowe, Spud Webb and Nate McMillan. They wanted it badly enough to fight for it. In their first pickup games after arriv- ing on campus, the two guards squared up in knock-down, drag-out fights in an at- tempt to establish their foothold. It wasn't a swing-and-hug baseball fight. There were punches landed, mostly on the lip of peace- maker Chucky Brown. Valvano had to call his two future stars into his office to let them know they each had a place in his offense. "What the hell are you two doing?" Val- vano asked. "You are the future of this pro- gram together." It worked out nicely, even though the two stars admit they weren't especially close their first two years in Raleigh. The world changed, however, early in their sophomore season. On Jan. 9, 1989, Raleigh's News & Observer published a front-page story about a coming scandal in- side the pages of the Peter Golenbock book Personal Fouls, which contained outlandish accusations about corruption and violations within Valvano's program. Over the next 18 months, the coach was vilified by the press and NC State's faculty. The NCAA's All-Time Assist Leaders Player School Assists Games Played 1. Bobby Hurley Duke 1,076 140 2. Chris Corchiani NC State 1,038 124 3. Ed Cota North Carolina 1,030 138 4. Jason Brickman LIU Brooklyn 1,009 130 5. Keith Jennings East Tennessee State 983 127 Corchiani led the nation in assists per game (9.6) in 1990-91, and his career average of 8.37 ranks fourth all time (minimum 550 assists). PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS