Who's in Your All-Time NC State Hoop Starting Five?
It's the kind of question that has no wrong answers -- although there will be plenty of debate amont those who disagree with yours. But this kind of "argument" is a good one.
The question, posed by the Wolfpack Club in a Twitter post on Wednesday is "Wwho would make your all-time NC State men's basketball starting five?"
So let's get it started.
There's one spot in the lineup that should be unanimous.
David "Skywalker" Thompson isn't just the best player ever to wear a Wolfpack uniform, an assertion punctuated by the fact that to date, he is still the only player in school history to have his number retired.
But that's where the consensus is likely to end.
Joining Thompson in our all-time State lineup is his 1974 national championship teammate Tommy Burleson.
It's hard to imagine someone who stands 7 foot-4 living in anyone's shadow because of the length of his own shadow. But that's how Burleson spent most of his Wolfpack career because of Thompson's greatness.
One of the most underappreciated stars in college basketball history, Burleson averaged 19.0 points and 12.7 rebounds per game for his three-year career.
The other three players on our team are guards, 1983 national champion Dereck Whittenburg and the duo of Fire and Ice -- Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe.
While there are those who posted better stats than Whittenburg, his return from a midseason injury was the stimulus that catapulted Jim Valvano's Cardiac Pack to its unlikely national title.
Although that team was a balanced unit, Whittenburg's shooting and leadership made him the one irreplacable piece to its puzzle.
As for Corchiani and Monroe, it would be impossible to include one without the other. The two were among the best backcourt duos in college basketball during the late 1980s and early '90s.
Corchiani was the first Division I player ever to amass more than 1,000 career assists while the sharpshooting Monroe broke Thompson's school scoring record with h 2,551 career points.
So there it is. What do you think?
Obviously there are plenty of other great choices -- Ronnie Shavlik, Van Williford, Tom Gugliotta, Vinny Del Negro, T.J. Warren just to name a few.
Now it's your turn.
If you haven't already done so, hit the "Follow" tab in the upper righthand corner of this page and give us your picks in the comment section. Then we can have a little fun discussing them amongst us.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:
Facebook -- ACC Insider
Twitter -- @WolfpackMaven and Brett Friedlander at @BFriedACC
