Yow, Wolfpack close chapter on inspirational story
FRESNO, Calif. – Khadijah Whittington broke down in tears on the podium discussing how inspirational North Carolina State coach Kay Yow has been during her battle with cancer.
Yow even wiped away a tear as her star player talked, a rare break in the strength the Hall of Fame coach has shown during a remarkable two-month run.
“That is what coaching is all about,” Yow said Saturday night following the Wolfpack’s season-ending loss to Connecticut. “It’s why I’ve been in the game over 40 years. People are always talking about coaching basketball but I always thought of myself as coaching people.”
And no one did that better than Yow this season.
After returning from a 16-game absence to undergo treatment for a recurrence of her stage 4 breast cancer, Yow led the Wolfpack on an emotion-fueled run through the NCAA tournament that ended with Saturday’s 78-71 loss in the Fresno Regional semifinal.
Before that loss, the Wolfpack had won 12 of 14 games, including some that will be remembered for years at N.C. State.
There was the upset of North Carolina on the night the school named the court Reynolds Coliseum after Yow. The shocker against No. 1 Duke in the ACC tournament semifinals, the first loss of the season for the Blue Devils.
Then there was the overtime win over Baylor in Raleigh in the second round of the NCAA tournament. For a while, it looked as if the run would be keep going as N.C. State broke out to a seven-point lead in the first half against the top-seeded Huskies.
But talent eventually won out over emotion, and UConn knocked off the Wolfpack, sending Yow into an offseason full of difficult decisions.
“These games have really given me a lift,” she said. “It has really meant so much to me each game that we went out and won. The games lifted my adrenaline so much that I didn’t feel anything that was happening outside the court.”
Yow is undergoing nearly weekly chemotherapy sessions for the cancer and said she will wait to consult with her doctors to see how her body responds to the treatments before deciding whether to return for a 37th season of coaching.
“That’s something I haven’t even thought about at this time,” Yow said. “How am I going to feel? Is my body going to respond? I don’t know yet. I need a little time to figure it all out.”
Yow planned to take a week off before starting the process of preparing for next season. Unable to spend as much time on the practice court as in the past, Yow said she will focus more on off-court discussions with her players about their goals.
Yow, 65, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and it recurred during the 2004-05 season, forcing her to miss two games. She took a 16-game leave earlier this season to undergo treatment for another recurrence of the cancer.
She has been coaching despite undergoing the chemo sessions that seriously weakened her, but her players say her strength has been their inspiration.
“This team will take a whole lot of life lessons from this year,” Whittington said, unable to fight back tears. “Just having a coach that’s going to fight for you and is able to do that for you throughout what she’s going through. There were so many times I felt like giving up and then I see Coach Yow and she never gives up.”
This season’s success is one of many milestones in Yow’s 36-year coaching career, including the last 32 at N.C. State. She coached the U.S. to the Olympic gold medal in 1988, won four ACC tournament championships, and made 20 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including the Final Four in 1998.
But Yow said this was the team that will make a lasting imprint at N.C. State. And she is the biggest reason why.
“It’s one of those things you know it takes all the effort you have to compete,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “To still be able to compete, that’s pretty amazing. You have to admire somebody like that.”