NC State’s Jim Valvano is best remembered for the dramatic 1983 title run by the Wolfpack, but that wasn’t the only great team that he had at NC State.
In 1987, Valvano brought in two guards who became an iconic backcourt – Rodney Monroe and Chris Corchiani, aka Fire and Ice.
Both guys were brilliant basketball players and amazingly complementary. Monroe became NC State’s all-time leading scorer while Corchiani became the first NCAA player to record more than 1,000 career assists.
Monroe was a more natural athlete and an elegant scorer. As Corchiani notes in this video, he might miss a few shots, but he’d keep on shooting regardless.
As for Corchiani, he definitely brought the heat. A fiery competitor, Corchiani didn’t always have the athleticism of some of his rivals, but he was a very savvy player. One of his tricks, that he pulled constantly on people, was to head downcourt at full speed, get ahead of his defender…then just stop and let the guy run over him.
He got to the line a lot doing that stunt.
Ultimately, Valvano was forced out after a scandal before Corchiani and Monroe finished their careers and they played their final year for Les Robinson. They’ll always be associated with Valvano though and remain one of the ACC’s more iconic backcourts.