Inside 40 years of NC State basketball recruiting (part II)

The second half of the 1980s in NC State basketball were the last recruiting classes of legendary Wolfpack head coach Jim Valvano.

Valvano resigned under pressure on April 7, 1990, and East Tennessee State coach Les Robinson arrived to replace him. The first part of The Wolfpacker's series showed Valvano's recruiting classes from 1980-85.

Here is a detailed look at the Wolfpack's classes from 1986-90, which included the legendary class of 1987 haul that featured star guards Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe, plus two other players who transferred out of Raleigh and became stars at their new stops.

• Brian D’Amico (6-10, 220, C, Reading (Pa.) Wilson) South Carolina signee who redshirted

• Kenny Drummond (5-10, 155, PG, Sacramento (Calif.) City College); From Peoria (Ill.) Academy of Our Lady of Spalding

• Brian Howard (6-7, 192, SF, Winston-Salem (N.C.) North Forsyth)

• Andy Kennedy (6-7, 180, SG, Louisville (Miss.) High)

• Avie Lester (6-9, 215, PF, Roxboro (N.C.) Person)

Overview: The steady Howard proved to be the standout from the recruiting class.

He averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds his junior year in 1988-89, and followed with 13.0 points and 5.1 rebounds as a senior while shooting 38.5 percent on three-pointers.

Despite not playing much as a freshman, Howard ended his career averaging 9.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and he shot 48.9 percent from the field and 37.2 percent while making 92 starts.

Howard went undrafted, but spent two years with the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 6.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game while making 22 starts. Howard then played in the CBA and mostly overseas from 1993-05.

D’Amico signed with South Carolina but played three years for NC State and started his senior year for the Pack at center. He contributed 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game that season.

D’Amico had a recruitment similar to current NCSU rising senior guard Braxton Beverly, who originally signed with Ohio State. Unlike Beverly did at Ohio State, D’Amico didn’t take any summer school classes. He still wasn’t allowed to join the Wolfpack and play right away however. He had to redshirt and practice with the squad while he forfeited the 1986-87 season, and then he had three years of eligibility remaining

Drummond, who averaged 30 points per game his sophomore year in junior college before arriving at NC State, was averaging 11.2 points and 4.4 assists in 25.5 minutes per game before he abruptly quit the team 24 games into the 1986-87 season. He had started 22 of the contests. Drummond turned professional and went undrafted.

Lester started one year for the Wolfpack in his three-year career, when he averaged 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in 1988-80 while shooting 54.9 percent in 1988-89.

Kennedy had a quality college career, but it wasn’t in Raleigh. He averaged 2.6 points in 6.6 minutes per game after appearing in 25 contests for the Wolfpack. He elected to transfer to UAB for his final three years, and became one of the top players in Blazers history. The sharp-shooter averaged 18.8 points per game and shot 43.7 percent from three-point land in 95 games in Birmingham.

Interesting tidbits: Kennedy became the interim coach at Cincinnati in 2005-06 and went 21-13. He followed by getting hired at Ole Miss, where he coached from 2006-18, going 245-156 overall and earning two bids to the NCAA Tournament and six trips to the NIT. He was hired as head coach at his alma mater UAB this spring … Lester has coached locally on the high school level, currently coaching his daughter at North Raleigh Christian Academy. He also coached future NC State signee Rodney Purvis at Raleigh Upper Room Christian.

• Chris Corchiani (6-0, 180, PG, Hialeah (Fla.) Hialeah-Miami Lakes)

• Sean Green (6-6, 210, SF, Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy) From Long Island City, N.Y.

• Rodney Monroe (6-3, 170, SG, Hagerstown (Md.) St. Maria Goretti)

• Byron Tucker (6-9, 183, PF, Oxon Hill (Md.) Potomac) Redshirted

Overview: The one-two punch of Corchiani and Monroe helped re-write the NC State record book and were much needed for the next transition of Wolfpack basketball. All four signees ended up having huge college careers, but Green and Tucker did it at other institutions.

Corchiani became “Fire” and Monroe was known as “Ice” and both were McDonald’s All-Americans, which made them among the top 24 players in the country.

Corchiani scored 3,435 career points and dished out 1,497 assists in high school. He was named Mr. Florida twice. Monroe was named first-team All-American by USA Today, and scored 3,047 career points in high school, breaking the Maryland prep record of Quintin Dailey.

Monroe scored 2,551 career points at NC State, which topped the then-school record held by David Thompson, and is currently still third all-time in the ACC. He averaged a career-high and ACC-best 27.0 points per game his senior year, shooting 43.5 percent from three-point land, to help him win league player of the year. He was also third-team All-American by The Associated Press that season.

Monroe was named first-team All-ACC in 1988-89 and 1990-91, and was second team in 1989-90. He ranks seventh all-time in the league with 322 career three-point field goals and second with 885 made field goals.

Monroe averaged 20.6 points (third in school history), 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest in his 124-game career at NC State. He shot 43.6 percent on three-pointers and 83.6 on free throws.

Monroe went in the second round with the No. 30 overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks in the 1991 NBA Draft. He played one season there, averaging 3.4 points in 38 games played. Monroe went on to play professionally overseas or in minor league basketball in the U.S. from 1993-07 and was recently inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.

Corchiani matched Monroe’s magical career, only in a different way. He is second all-time in NCAA basketball history with 1,038 career assists, and is fourth with 8.4 assists per game. He is also 22nd with 328 career steals.

Corchiani was second-team All-ACC in 1989 and 1991, and third-team all-league in 1990. He led the nation with 9.6 assists his senior year, to go along with 16.3 points and 2.9 steals per game.

Corchiani finished his decorated 124-game career (112 starts), averaging 11.5 points, 8.4 assists and 2.6 steals per contest. He shot 40.8 percent on three-pointers and 82.2 percent at the free-throw line.

Corchiani was drafted No. 36 overall, six spots below Monroe, to the Orlando Magic in the 1991 NBA Draft. He played for there from 1991-93, then one contest for the Washington Bullets in 1993 and a 51-game stint with the Boston Celtics for the 1993-94 season. He also played overseas until he retired in 2002. Corchiani averaged 3.7 points and 2.2 assists in 11.7 minutes per game during his 112-game NBA career.

Together, Corchiani and Monroe helped NC State reach the Sweet 16 in 1989, where a controversial traveling call probably cost the Wolfpack a defeat to Georgetown. NCSU also made the NCAA Tournament in their freshman and senior seasons, the latter the first year for Robinson as head coach.

Both Green and Tucker were considered top-75 recruits, but neither panned out in Raleigh.

Green was the first player NC State signed out of famed Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy. He played seven games for NC State and transferred at the midway point to Iona in 1987-88. He went on to average 18.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Gaels in his 88-game career.

Green went in the second round at No. 41 overall to the Indiana Pacers in the 1991 NBA Draft, a handful of spots behind Monroe and Corchiani. He played with the Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz from 1991-94 (4.2 points per game in 84 contests), and then played overseas until 2002.

Tucker redshirted his freshman year and was likened to Thurl Bailey. He played just three games for the Wolfpack in 1988-89 and transferred to George Mason. Like Green, he excelled at the smaller school level and averaged 16.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 63 career games. Tucker averaged 20.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game his senior year in 1991-92.

Interesting tidbit: Corchiani's son Chris Corchiani Jr. was a walk-on player at NC State.

• Tom Gugliotta (6-7, 205, PF, Huntington Station (N.Y.) Walt Whitman)

• Mickey Hinnant (6-6, 185, SF, Louisburg (N.C.) J.C.); Went to Cary (N.C.) High

• Jamie Knox (6-7, 205, PF, Vicksburg (Miss.) High)

• David Lee (6-8, 221, C, El Camino (Calif.) J.C.); Went to Los Angeles (Calif.) Banning High

Overview: Gugliotta became the lone starter from the class of 1988.

He grew six inches in high school and kept getting taller in college. He finished growing at 6-foot-10 and went on to become a star for the Wolfpack. Gugliotta became known for why you don’t write off a player after his freshman campaign, when he had just 56 points and 35 rebounds.

He went on average 13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in his 112-game career (90 starts). He shot 47.6 percent from the field and an impressive 40.8 percent on three-pointers.

Gugliotta earned first-team All-ACC in 1992, after averaging 22.5 points (second in the ACC), a league-leading 9.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The post player also drained 39.9 percent from beyond the arc was second in three-point field goals made (93) that season.

He was the No. 6 overall pick of the 1992 NBA Draft, going to the Washington Bullets. He played in the NBA from 1992-05 for seven different organizations. He earned a berth in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, during the season he ended up averaging a career-high 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He followed up by averaging nearly identical numbers the next year.

Gugliotta averaged at least 10.9 points per game his first eight years in the NBA, and finished his productive career at 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 763 contests (608 starts).

Hinnant played for a pair of years after transferring in from junior college. He averaged 5.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 12.8 minutes played in his 58 NCSU contests.

Knox had 51 points and 16 rebounds in his 25 games played at NC State from 1988-90. Lee was right behind with 39 points and 33 rebounds in his 31-game stint with the Wolfpack, after transferring in from junior college.

Interesting tidbits: Knox has become a successful professional basketball agent in his post-playing career. He has represented past NCSU players such as Dennis Horner, Courtney Fells, Gavin Grant, Anthony Grundy, Marcus Melvin, Josh Powell, C.J. Williams and recently inked C.J. Bryce ... Gugliotta and Corchiani were involved in one of the more famous recent events in NC State basketball history when they were ejected from a game by former ACC official Karl Hess (video below).

• Bryant Feggins (6-6, 190, SF, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Glenn)

• Anthony Robinson (6-9, 220, PF, Havelock (N.C.) High)

• Kevin Thompson (6-9, 225, C, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Glenn)

Overview: Glenn High proved to be good to the Wolfpack, with Thompson becoming one of the top NC State big men in the 1990s, and Feggins was solid when healthy. Feggins was Mr. Basketball in the state of North Carolina his senior year.

Thompson got better and better during his time at NC State under Robinson. He had two strong back-to-back seasons, which resulted in him making third-team All-ACC as a senior.

Thompson averaged 15.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and shot a school-record 62.4 percent from the field his junior year in 1991-92. He followed up by averaging 15.5 points. 9.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a contest, and he shot 54.3 percent from the field.

Thompson finished his NCSU career shooting 58.8 percent from the field, still best ever for a Wolfpacker. He also averaged 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 118 career games (88 starts).

Thompson went in the second round as the No. 48 overall pick to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1993 NBA Draft. After he played one year with the Trail Blazers — he had 13 points and 13 rebounds in 14 games played — he played overseas from 1994-08.

Feggins broke out his sophomore season by averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and he shot a nifty 53.5 percent from the field in 1990-91. An ACL tear and being the victim of a gun shot led to him not playing again until 1993-94. He went on to average 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds during his 110-game career at NC State.

Robinson redshirted his first season and had 24 points and 35 rebounds in 31 games played from 1990-92. He tragically committed suicide Nov. 23, 1992.

This would be the last class fully signed by Valvano.

Interesting tidbits: Thompson is now the head boys basketball coach at Walkertown (N.C.) High, and prior to that was an assistant coach at High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan, which had future NBA players Theo Pinson and Harry Giles.

• Marc Lewis (6-7, F, Greensboro (N.C.) Page)

• Migjen Bakalli (6-6, SF, Belmont (N.C.) South Point)

• Adam Fletcher (6-1, PG, Raleigh Sanderson)

Overview: This would be the last class signed that experienced a NCAA Tournament (their freshman season in 1991) until the Pack returned to the Big Dance 11 years after that.

Lewis and Bakalli both played all four years at NC State, but neither emerged as key cogs for the Wolfpack.

Lewis had led Greensboro Page to a 31-0 record his senior year in high school while averaging 23.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. He was named MVP of the state title game.

He had his best season as a junior in 1992-93, when he averaged 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and shot 46.7 percent from the field. He finished his NCSU career averaging 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.8 minutes a contest over 84 career games.

Bakalli was a key reserve his first two seasons, shooting 47.7 percent on three-pointers as a rookie. Then injuries started to pile up. A broken foot limited him to 11 games his junior year, and then three games into his senior season he departed the squad to work on his academics.

Bakalli averaged 6.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game, and he played in 75 career contests.

Fletcher played two years at NC State, accumulating 25 points and 14 assists in 26 games played.

Interesting tidbit: One of Lewis' teammate on that Page squad, forward Bill Kretzer, would also end up at NC State.

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