The 35th Anniversary of the Biggest Sporting Event in Johnson City History

ETSU’s 94–91 victory against North Carolina State cemented the Buccaneers as national contenders for a time.

ETSU does not place much emphasis on their history.

One of the reasons might be the Buccaneers may find living up to the standards of past achievement too demanding.

Case in point, 35 years ago today, on December 29, 1990, the biggest sporting event in the history of Johnson City was held when 20th ranked ETSU beat North Carolina State, 94–91 in front of 12,240 fans in the Minidome.

Imagine the two point guards who would end the season as the two leading assist makers in the NCAA history playing each other.

For the Wolfpack, that meant Chris Corchiani, who finished his college career with 1038 assists.

For ETSU, it was Keith “Mister” Jennings, who tallied 983 assists in his Buccaneers career.

Charismatic Wolfpack head coach Jim Valvano had spent three years talking up Corchiani and teammate Rodney Monroe, to the point they were considered the best backcourt in the nation by many observers.