1 0Basketball '90-91The Daily Tar HeelFriday, November 16, 1990
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By WARREN HYNES
Staff Writer
The flair ... the hair thecharm ... the
harm.
It's all gone now.
Jim Valvano coached the N.C. State
basketball program to 209 wins in 10
years. But, during that span, his program
graduated only 11 of 4 1 players. The
academic abuses, the 1 989-90 probation,
the Charles Shackleford case all took
their toll on the pride of N.C. State
academics and basketball. The resuit,
after months of investigation, was a
$613,000 settlement that ended the
Valvano Era.
It was time for a new beginning.
On April 23, 1990, Les Robinson
was named head coach at State. A
graduate of NCSU in 1 965 and a former
player under Everett Case, Robinson
returns to State after 16 years as a col
lege head coach.
Robinson guided the Citadel for 1 1
years from 1975-85, winning more
games (132) than any other Bulldog
coach. He then moved on to East Ten
nessee State, where he led the Bucca
neers to two NCAA Tournament ap
pearances. Last year, the Bucs went 27
7 in their best season ever.
The coaching credentials are there.
But what drew N.C. State to Les
Robinson was the fact that in 1 6 years,
all but one of his four-year players have
earned their degrees.
To make the match even prettier,
Robinson is simply filled with State
pride and tradition.
"What we want to promote and sell in
our recruiting and overall is the great
tradition at North Carolina State," he
said. "We've had some great players
that are doing very well in society. For
those that did not graduate, my thinking
is it's not a dead issue. They can still
graduate. We're trying to focus on some
of the positive things of the past."
Robinson's upbeat attitude has made
the transition a remarkably smooth one
for the State team.
"It's been really easy to cope with,"
senior guard Chris Corchiani said.
"From day one, everyone's really given
Coach Robinson respect. That's some-
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say thin? State's
M.C. State
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. CI.
12 A. Fletcher G 6-0 185 Fr.
13 C. Corchiani G 6-1 182 Sr.
15 R.Whitley G 6-0 164 Jr.
21 R.Monroe G 6-3' 181 Sr.
22 M.Bakalli f 6-6 190 Fr.
23 J. Knox F 6-7 205 Jr.
24 T.Gugliotta F 6-9 219 Jr.
33 A. Robinson F 6-9 220 Fr.
34 B. Feggins F 6-6 190 So.
42 K. Thompson F 6-9 225 So.
45 M. Lewis F 6-7 215 Fr.
Head Coach: Les Robinson (N.C. State,;
1965). Overall Coaching Record: 213
232 in 16 years. Record at N.C. State:
first year
thing that I thought was going to take
time, but he's just really gained respect
instantly."
Corchiani's senior backcourt mate,
Rodney Monroe, agreed.
"For the first time in a long time, it's
a relaxed atmosphere out there. The
players are relaxed, the coaches are re
laxed, even the student body is relaxed."
When he kept the spirit of N.C. State
basketball from shattering, Robinson
accomplished his most vital task. The
program can now begin rebuilding.
And, as the Wolfpack roster clearly
shows, rebuilding looks to be the name
of the game this year.
State was prohibited from off-campus
recruiting until Sept. 1. As the season
begins, the team looks to have a strong
starting five. The bench, however, is
thin ... to say the very, very least.
"We have no scholarship player on
the bench that's played a second of
college basketball," Robinson said.
All talk about the Wolfpack begins at
the guard position for very- good
reason. Corchiani and Monroe, forever
dubbed "Fire and Ice," make up one of
the country's strongest backcourts.
Monroe is the ACC's most prolific
shooter. Last season, the 6-foot-3 guard
averaged 23.2 points per game, second
in the conference. He buried 48.3 per-
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cent of his 3-point attempts, tops in the
league. With 1,715 career points, he is
on track to break David Thompson's
school record of 2,309.
Despite double and triple coverage,
Monroe was the leading scorer in 25 of
State's 30 games last year. Special de
fenses don't seem to faze the tall cool
one. His game face never changes, and
neither does his performance.
"He's probably the best player I've
ever played against," UNC guard Hubert
Davis said.
Corchiani, arguably the premierpoint
guard in the nation, averaged 13.1 points,
7.9 assists and 3. 1 steals per contest last
season. With 739 career assists, he is on
track to become the first NCAA Divi
sion I player ever to tally 1 ,000 assists.
He sports an assist-to-turnover ratio of
2.6 to 1 . Corchiani is also 39 steals away
from the ACC career mark.
Blistering with emotion and drive,
the 6-1 guard sizzles with an intense
passion for the game.
"Chris is just a hard-nosed, tough
kid," Robinson said. "He has a lot of the
intangibles that coaches try to recruit.
He's a winner, and he's tough. He
doesn't back down from anybody."
The guards coming off the bench do
show potential. Migjen Bakalli, a 6-6
freshman, poured in 25.3 ppg as a high
school senior, Adam Fletcher, a 6-1
freshman, averaged 20.9 ppg, but Roland
Whitley, a 6-0 junior, has played only
5 1 minutes in two years.
Up front, junior Tom Gugliotta and
sophomore Bryant Feggins occupy the
forward positions, while sophomore
Kevin Thompson starts at center.
Gugliotta was the surprise of the ACC
last season. "Gugs" dropped in 1 1 . 1 ppg
and led the team with seven rebounds
per contest. The 6-9 forward has a
sparkling diversity of court talents.
"He does so much for us," Corchiani
said. "He can lead the break, he can
shoot threes, he led us in rebounding.
He's just an all-around great player."
Feggins and Thompson, though full
in spirit and talent, are lean in court
experience. Feggins averaged 4.2 points
and 2.5 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per
contest last year. Thompson tallied 3.3
points and 2.8 boards in 12.2 minutes
per game. But the recruiting restrictions
made it clear to Robinson months ago
that the two would start as sophomores.
"My thinking was, 'Let's go ahead
and not try to fool these young men,"
Robinson said. "They started in May to
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Chris Corchiani joins Rodney Monroe
think like starters, and I wanted them to
do that. I think it paid dividends."
The two will likely be given ample
time to mature, for the Wolfpack
frontcourt is not deep at all.
Freshman Marc Lewis, a 6-7 forward,
averaged 23. 1 ppg in leading Greensboro
Page High to the state 4-A champion
ship. Freshman Tony Robinson, a 6-9,
230-pound forward, was redshirted last
season. He had never played organized
ball before high school. Senior David
Lee, a 6-8, 250-pound forward, was
also redshirted last year. He averaged
1.1 ppg two years ago.
The Wolfpack coaching staff has also
held tryouts forthe student body, looking
to add at least one more player to the
bench. Yes, this is a team in recon-
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in State's 'Fire and Ice' backcourt
struction.
Robinson will rely heavily on the 3
point shot, as he did at ETSU. He has
given Monroe, Corchiani, Gugliotta and
Bakalli the green light on 3-point at
tempts. While the Wolfpack coach prefers an
up-tempo game, he knows the fast pace
will fail if his starters play 40-minute
games. Fatigue will set in quicker than
a Corchiani steal.
"In most conference play, your game
is won and lost in those last few minutes,"
Robinson said. "They're going to have
to have some breathers. It's going to be
a Catch-22.' It depends really on the
quality of those substitutes and how
much time we can give them."
30