The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER He eventually had to step down as both ath- letics director and head coach. The 1988-89 team drew closer together during the accusatory phase of the scan- dal, winning the 1989 ACC regular-season championship and advancing to the Sweet 16. They may have gone further had it not been for what CBS announcer Billy Packer still calls "the worst call in the history of the NCAA Tournament," when ACC official Rick Hartzell called Corchiani for traveling against Georgetown instead of calling a fifth foul on Hoyas star Alonzo Mourning. Valvano was convinced that team could have made a trip to the Final Four if they had won the game. The following months were miserable, with Valvano and his program under inves- tigation by the NCAA, the ACC, the UNC Board of Governors and the State Bureau of Investigation, among others. No major vio- lations were found, but the team was placed on a two-year probation for lack of institu- tional control with a one-year postseason ban for Monroe and Corchiani's junior year. Robinson, a former player under Everett Case and an NC State graduate, came in from East Tennessee State to rebuild the program when Valvano stepped down after the 1989-90 season. Corchiani was mad enough to discuss transferring, a decision Valvano talked him out of doing. In retrospect, both players admit they learned their greatest life lessons during that dark period in their NC State careers. "You never know what lessons you will learn when you are going through some- thing like that," Corchiani said. "You never know when you will use them. "All I know is that those were the best four years of my life." Monroe is trying to draw on his college and professional experiences to guide his players and his sons through the difficult circumstances they face in the cur- rent COVID-19 pandemic. "We talk a lot about persevering," Monroe noted. "We are all going through adjustments right now. The other team has to wear the masks, just like we do. We are all facing the same obstacles. You have to work to overcome whatever is in front of you. "If you want to play basketball, you have to overcome whatever re- strictions you might have." In other words, you have to fight it out. The Men They Became It's funny, in a way, watching Cor- chiani watch Monroe. Corch was the son of a coach, a basketball sponge who was the leader on the court, knowing exactly what his team should do and what the other team would do. He ended up in real estate, in home mortgage lending and in title insur- ance sales, successful at every turn. Maybe Fire would have been too hot-headed on the sidelines, like Val- vano sometimes was. Monroe was a scorer, a great player who made his way with talent and a sweet shooting stroke. Now he's the guy with the whistle, cool as a Ga- torade bath in pressure situations. "I'm not really a big yeller," Monroe said. "But I do have to get a little louder when I'm wearing the mask, just so they can hear me." Corchiani had offers to become a coach, but decided he wanted to raise his children — all of whom were born overseas — in a se- cure and stable environment. He put his roots in Raleigh, first opening a pizza restaurant, then going into sales. He's currently partners with former NC State football and baseball star Terry Harvey and golfer Mark West, in a company that employs more than 60 people. He never wanted to have the vagabond life of a coach, because he lived that as a player, bouncing from Orlando to Boston to Washington to Italy, Turkey, Spain and Germany. Including the Turkish-born son he adopted while playing, he has five children, all of whom are in or finished with college. Monroe also wanted to raise his kids on U.S. soil. He found his niche in teaching clinics, often with Corchiani and often in faith-based organizations catering to players from financially distressed communities. After a couple of years as a player agent, As a senior in 1990-91, Monroe led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally in scoring with an average of 27.0 points per game. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Corchiani equaled the ACC single-game assist record when he handed out 20 during NC State's 114-91 win over Maryland in 1991. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN