Comparisons to Wolfpack Past

Fresh off Sidney Lowe’s first Raleigh Caravan, our blogging minds have turned back to basketball – particularly, Wolfpack retro. As a fun off-season exercise, a few of us brainstormed about rough comparisons of the 2007-08 roster to Wolfpackers of the past. Please share your own comps and thoughts in the comments section below. Our memories are very sketchy before the early 80s, so we are counting on the collective wisdom of our readership to cover prior decades.

– Degand = Cliff Crawford, Kelsey Weems
– Fells = Ernie Myers, Cam Bennerman, Scooter Sherrill
– Grant = Ishua Benjamin, Ernie Myers, Brian Howard, Jeremy Hyatt
– Horner = Walker Lambiotte, Andy Kennedy, Ilian Evtimov
– Smith = Brian Howard, Levi Watkins, Lorenzo Charles
– Costner = Thurl Bailey, Kenny Carr, Tom Gugliotta
– McCauley = Chucky Brown, Kevin Thompson, Evtimov/Todd Fuller hybrid (passing and low-post moves)
– Hickson = Chris Washburn (without the negative off-court baggage), Charles Shackleford (ditto)
– Johnson = Nate McMillan, Mickey Hinnant, Kenny Matthews, CC Harrison
– Javi = Curtis Marshall, Lakista McCuller
– Thomas = Cam Bennerman, smaller Kenny Carr, Brian Howard

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121 Responses to Comparisons to Wolfpack Past

  1. PapaJohn 05/09/2007 at 4:07 PM #

    Brief jog down memory lane …
    We talk about point guards and how bad we need one, my favorite of all was Chris Corchiani. Yes he was short and had no shot so he wasn’t the best ever, but he was a wizard with the ball. I can clearly remember several occaisions of him bringing the ball up court and someone trying to guard him and he’d stick his butt into the guy and sometimes the opposing player would end up laying on Corch’s back. Even then Corch kept dribbling until the foul was called. That was a fun team.

  2. Big Worm 05/09/2007 at 5:14 PM #

    PapaJohn said:

    “Yes he was short and had no shot so he wasn’t the best ever, but he was a wizard with the ball. ”

    Half-right. Corch was a wizard with the ball AND he could shoot extremely well. He had a set shot that didn’t translate well to the NBA game but he was a very good shooter – better, in fact, than Bobby Hurley, who is generally considered one of the top 10 guards in ACC history.

    Corch and Hurley had identical career 3-point shooting percentages (41%, which is outstanding), but Corch was better from the field (46% to 41%) and from the line (82% to 78%). Their scoring averages were virtually identical has well, with Hurley averaging 17 a game his senior year and 12 for his career (Corch averaged 16 and 12, respectively) Considering that Corch was also a more efficient ball distributor (8.4 apg to Hurley’s 7.7) it’s hard to argue that Hurley was better than Corch.

    I think the most balanced comparison between Hurley and Corch was that they were virtual equals on the court – both incredible college point guards who excelled at ball distribution AND scoring. Hurley just had the good fortune of playing with a better supporting cast than Corch.

  3. BJD95 05/09/2007 at 5:19 PM #

    Corch won the college 3-point contest his senior year. Beat Monroe in the final!

  4. burnbarn 05/09/2007 at 5:51 PM #

    Hurley also played something in the low teens more games than Corch IIRC. Hurley went to how many FFs. Corch made it the tourney too alot, but we rarely went more than 2 games.

    I still liked Lowe better. He never made a mistake.

  5. redfred2 05/09/2007 at 6:58 PM #

    Lowe is hard to beat just about in any way. He was always cool and in control, never rattled or intimidated by anything, and a point guard who could create a score, for somebody, whenever needed. Also, Monte Towe, from back in my glory days, was also a smart, tough, BB player. He created turnovers with hustle and just knowing where the ball was going to be. Even at his height, he was a big plus on the defensive end. He very rarely turned it over, could shoot the ball when defenses sagged inside, and he is probably the reason the term “Alley Oop” was invented.

    My two personal favorites, in order, anyway. But, who here doesn’t like a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP caliber point guard from N C S T A T E.

  6. vtpackfan 05/09/2007 at 7:18 PM #

    Looks like we could have some possible Whitt types being recruited. Jarrett Man ’08 SG and Deleware POY, and Noel Johnson ’09 SG out of GA.

  7. vtpackfan 05/09/2007 at 7:22 PM #

    …Jarrett Mann is how he spells it. Was supposedly a shoe in to sign with Stanford, but after turning alot of heads at camps he is re evaluating. Great shooter with a ton of confidence.

  8. TNCSU 05/09/2007 at 7:26 PM #

    PapaJohn, I agree that Corch was great. My all-time best memory of a State PG has to be Monte, though. It’s a toss-up between those two for me. I loved Sid, too. Another one of my favorites of all-time who is hard to compare is SPUD! He was great! No one like him! Anyone care to list their all-star NCState team? I’ll go with
    1. Monte/Corch
    2. Rodney/Vinny
    3. DT/Chucky/Julius
    4. Thurl/Googs
    5. Tommy B/Shackelford

    Well, it was fun just to think about it…. I’m sure I’m missing a bunch, but those are good top 11.

  9. TNCSU 05/09/2007 at 7:35 PM #

    Okay, I just realized I left out Sid and Whitt!! I apologize!! Washburn is the ultimate, “what could have been.”

  10. 98st8 05/09/2007 at 7:49 PM #

    Smith as Danny Strong and his enormous wristband

  11. TNCSU 05/09/2007 at 8:08 PM #

    I have to disagree with the Horner comparisons. Is it because they are all white? Horner stuck with us — Lambiotte and Kennedy transferred, and were not alot like Horner. I’d almost compare Horner more to a shorter Googs. Or even alot like Chucky…Especially, after only his Freshman year. Horner may surprise some folks….he has got one sweet shot, although his release needs to be quicker.

  12. TNCSU 05/09/2007 at 8:14 PM #

    Horner is also alot more “athletic” than Elian, and he’s shown the ability to take folks off the dribble — something Elian, Lambiotte, or Kennedy rarely did.

  13. legacyman 05/09/2007 at 8:24 PM #

    Corch was not “short”. He was about six feet which is fine for a PG. Spud was “short” but played very tall.

  14. TNCSU 05/09/2007 at 8:27 PM #

    I never knew Corch beat Rodney in the 3-point contest his senior year…Good stuff. He had a good shot, hence the tons of points in H.S., but it was more of a set shot and had a tough time against taller defenders on the perimeter.

  15. TNCSU 05/09/2007 at 8:29 PM #

    BTW, I don’t think Tracy is going to qualify…he would have signed by now. Can a non-qualifier practice with the team and play the next semester — or the next year???

  16. Andy 05/09/2007 at 9:05 PM #

    Qualifying has nothing to do with signing, however Tracy supposedly signed his LOI last week

  17. packwolf90 05/09/2007 at 11:33 PM #

    Is Hickson “amphibious” like Chris Washburn? lol

  18. brickman 05/10/2007 at 6:08 AM #

    i think he has signed .would say 95% . waiting on second sat score to come back . to make it off.

  19. TNCSU 05/10/2007 at 6:51 AM #

    Shackleford was amphibious, not Washburn…as I said, I don’t think Smith is going to qualify…whether he signed an LOI last week or not, which I don’t think he did. I hope he qualifies, but it’s not looking good.

  20. zahadum 05/10/2007 at 7:46 AM #

    My favorite Corch memories are all of the games he played against Duke. Won some, lost some, but for 4 years, K was stubbornly determined that he could press Chris, and everytime Corch would eat the Duke press alive.

  21. noah 05/10/2007 at 8:31 AM #

    Chris Corchiani was the absolute best north-south dribble-penetrator I ever saw.

    He didn’t have incredible speed and quickness like a Kenny Smith or a Kenny Anderson, so he couldn’t put a drop-step or crossover on you, but he could beat you to that one spot on the floor where he had just enough leverage to squeeze past the defender. Then he’d get into the lane and was brilliant at these little wrap-around passes to the big guys collapsing from the edges.

  22. CedarGroveWolf 05/10/2007 at 8:37 AM #

    “whether he signed an LOI last week or not, which I don’t think he did”

    I think he did

  23. PapaJohn 05/10/2007 at 9:03 AM #

    One more about Corch:
    Does anyone remember his recruiting? There were a couple of great HS point guards out there, King Rice and Corch. Carolina decided that “the King” was the better player and focused on him. So there was a great deal of discussion their freshman year who was going to be the better PG.
    HAHAHAHA
    That discussion didn’t last long.
    We don’t out recruit the Heels often, but we sure did that time.

    BTW, we’ve got some posters who either have incredible memories or are great researchers! I had no idea Corch was that good a shooter. I went to a ton of his games, and video taped them all (kept them for years till my wife got sick of them) and I remember frequently feeling frustrated that he either didn’t take the critical shot, or didn’t hit it. He was certainly the epitome of the ‘pass first’ PG. I had also forgotten he was 6 feet, but he didn’t look it. He was built kind of like Sid and didn’t look as tall as he was.

    We have certainly been fortunate with PGs. And with Sid, Monte, QJ, and Justin on staff, you’d think we’d be a magnet for more great ones. Hope so!

  24. BJD95 05/10/2007 at 9:41 AM #

    In the 3-point contest, Rodney had an incredible semifinal round, where I think he only missed 3 or 4 of 25 shots. He was worn out in the final, and Corch had his best round of the day. Watching the two of them square off was outstanding. I would have taken time to cherish it more if I knew what the rest of 90s were going to be like.

  25. noah 05/10/2007 at 9:45 AM #

    King Rice was, IIRC, THE prominent point guard in his class. He was a top-10 player. The top guards overall were LaBradford Smith (Louisville) and Eric Manual (UK) and Rodney Monroe, but among the point guards…King Rice was considered the best by everyone.

    Corchiani was considered a top-50 guy and was ranked alongside point guards like Elliot Perry (Memphis State) and John Crotty (UVa) and Sean Miller (pitt…yes, that Sean Miller).

    LaBradford Smith and Delino DeShields were the two big variables. Everyone loved their game, but figured they’d sign to play baseball. DeShields did, Smith ended up sticking with basketball.

    Manual ended up getting busted after cheating on his SATs and was barred from ever playing NCAA-sanctioned basketball. He played NAIA ball and then played in Europe. UK ended up getting busted with the Emory envelope and faulty glue headed for LeRon Ellis.

    The top player in the country was Larry Johnson, but everyone knew he wasn’t going to qualify. The next best player was Marcus Liberty, but everyone was reasonably certain he wouldn’t qualify either (he didn’t). Manual and Ellis got taken down a peg…so that meant the top incoming freshmen were Rice, Brian Williams (Maryland), Smith, and Dennis Scott (Ga. Tech).

    (BTW, Scott almost ended up not qualifying. Seems like I remember him setting some record for the most number of times taking the SATs before getting a 700. Seems like he took it 25 times or something.)

    Rice got to UNC and pretty quickly, everyone realized that he wasn’t especially fast and he couldn’t shoot. I remember reading Dean Smith’s description of him and Smith said, “He isn’t the best shooter, or the quickest guy, or the best ball-handler….he just finds a way to beat you.”

    Well…not really. I never saw him play in high school, so I have *no* idea why everyone was so high on him. He was a smallish, plodding, no-shooting, average-passing guard. A good backup, in other words.

    John Crotty would have gone to UNC with a big ol’ happy smile on his face, as I understand it, so I’m glad they passed on him. It became pretty clear early on that Rice was at the back of the pack in terms of skills. I remember him making exactly one big shot in his career….against James Madison in the 1989-90 season. Carolina was struggling heavily at the beginning of that year and they were in danger of losing to Lefty’s squad. At the end of the game, Rice hit a double-clutched, wild 15 footer at the top of the lane that banked in to win it.

    Other than that…the only memorable thing he did was run over Quinn Snyder at the end of the 1989 ACC tourney championship game in Greensboro and get called for the charge. That pretty much gave Dook the win.

    I think that was 1989…might have been 1988.

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