Kay Yow 1942-2009

by Patrick ‘Rey’ Reynell

I won’t try to act like I have much merit in discussing the life and career of NC State women’s coach, Kay Yow. Most of what I know about her I know from ESPN. In fact, if you want to read a true memorial about Coach Yow, check out Mechelle Voepel’s article at ESPN.com. However, my degree of separation is actually not too far from Coach Yow.

I reside in the heart of the ACC, just east of Raleigh. My wife is a varsity girls coach here. One of her former players is the current team manager for the NC State women’s team. She still speaks frequently with her and I even ran into Maegan at a banquet in recent weeks. I asked how she was, how college was going, and sorry that my wife could not attend the banquet to say hello to her. Her response quickly moved to basketball and informed me before the news was announced that Coach Yow was indeed going to sit out the rest of this season . I could tell the disappointment in her voice and even more so the concern.

Since my wife took over the program in 2006, she has taken her team to the “Hoops 4 Hope” game at Reynolds Coliseum on NC State’s campus. The annual event is to honor breast cancer survivors and fighters with all proceeds going to the Kay Yow WBCA Cancer Fund, a part of the

Jimmy V Foundation. I never attended and now certainly regret it. But I remember that even with a team full of girls, they always came back with plenty of “goodies.” Bags, shirts, stickers, magnets. It was a meaningful game to promote awareness and Coach Yow and her staff made sure the young ladies in the crowd learned to appreciate basketball and more importantly each other. Most of my wife’s players have never seen a college game, so the Hoops 4 Hope is usually their first experience. Not only are they made aware of the level of competition, but made even more aware of cancer and its effects as survivors join on the court.

Last year, I was a statistician for the NC High School State basketball championships held at Reynolds Coliseum. It’s an older arena, but kept in very good shape. The basketball offices are abnormally accessible to fans, sitting right beside one of the main entrances. Kay Yow’s office was also right outside of the room where I made all the copies for each game. During one of my trips back to my seat on press row, I noticed her sitting not too far away. She had little time to watch the game because she was constantly approached. Security quickly realized that Yow was not in dire need of their attention. She took time to speak with every individual, whether fan or fellow basketball enthusiast. She could have at any point asked security to limit the amount of traffic that made its way to her seat, but she never did.

Afterwards, she and another coach made the trip back to her office. Some young fans, knowing that her office door was easily accessible, made their way to that area as well. Coach Yow stopped and spoke for some time with some of the younger fans who couldn’t have been more than eleven or twelve years old. I’m sure that at the age of sixty-plus years with the fatigue of cancer, she wanted to just go in and sit down. But in what I understand is typical Kay Yow fashion, she spoke with the young ladies for a few minutes and then headed back when she thought their trip to speak with the great coach was worth leaving their seats.

It was not out of the ordinary for Yow. She made herself readily available not to just athletes, but the Wolfpack students. She was always willing to take time out for other people. And, of course, I was surprised when Maegan told me that Yow had in fact decided to rest for the remainder of this season. I knew that for Coach Yow, she must be extremely fatigued and struggling with the recurrence of cancer to not be with her team.

Before I ever read an article on Saturday morning, the text messages started circulating about Yow’s death. I figured she would make it through this recent bout, as she has done before as far back as 1987. I felt for Maegan. I also watched my wife as we viewed a tribute, who loves teaching her girls about the game of basketball as well as the game of life when they attend Hoops 4 Hope. I kind of expected her to cry, but I think she was too proud to shed a tear. She watched more in admiration for a woman who used basketball as a means to a solution – without losing the success she had gained in the sport.

The Hoops 4 Hope game this year will be Sunday February 15 against Virginia. It will be the first time Coach Yow won’t be in attendance, but the beauty will be in the event that will continue to carry Yow’s legacy in the fight against cancer. More important than her 737 wins, her four ACC championships, her thirty-four seasons at the helm of the Lady Wolfpack, Yow has created an untouchable solidarity in the women’s game that will never be broken. It can’t be. Life – and the respite and therapy of basketball – are too precious.