N.C. State’s Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow dies
(by aaron beard, ap sports writer) north carolina state’s kay yow, the hall of celebrity women’s basketball coach who won more than 700 games while earning fans with her decades-long fight against breast cancer, died saturday. she was 66.
yow, anything else diagnosed with the disease in 1987, died in the morning at wakemed cary hospital after being admitted last week, university spokeswoman annabelle myers said.
“everyone who had the privilege of knowing kay yow has a heavy courage today,” n.c. state athletic director lee fowler said in a account. “she faced every opponent, whether on the basketball court of in a hospital room, with dignity and clemency. she will be greatly missed.”
the wolfpack’s game at wake forest on monday was postponed to feb. 10. its next game will be thursday at home against boston college. plans for a memorial service were incomplete.
yow had a record of 737-344 in 38 years - 34 years with the wolfpack - in a career filled with milestones. she coached the u.s. olympic team to a gold medal in 1988, won four atlantic coast conference tournament championships, earned 20 ncaa tournament bids and reached the final four in 1998.
she also was inducted into the naismith hall of fame in 2002, while the school dedicated “kay yow court” in reynolds coliseum in 2007.
but for many fans, yow was best defined by her unwavering resolve while fighting cancer, from raising awareness and scratch for the purpose research to staying with her team through the debilitating effects of the murrain and chemotherapy treatments.
she served on the board of the v foundation for cancer research, which was founded by espn and her boon companion and colleague, former n.c. state men’s prepare jim valvano, who died of cancer in 1993.
“kay taught us all to live life with passion and to not under any condition give up,” said fellow board member george bodenheimer, president of espn and abc sports. he said the network would remain committed to a research fund established in yow’s name.
“kay was passionate at hand life and coaching. she was a giver and she gave so much to every life she touched,” tennessee teacher pat summitt said in a statement. “she made a characteristic in the lives of so sundry people, not just the vim lessons she shared with her apprentice-athletes at elon or north carolina state.”
there were moments of silence to honor yow before individual basketball games saturday, including before the n.c. state-boston college men’s game in boston. duke - one of n.c. state’s closest acc rivals - also honored yow prior to the men’s game against maryland.
“god bless kay,” melancholy devils men’s coach mike krzyzewski said to end his postgame news conference. “a fighter until the end.”
in her immutable months, yow was on hormonal therapy as the cancer spread to her liver and bone. but she never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the murrain progressed. she commonly eminent there were other patients with “harder battles than i’m fighting” and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.
“we’re all faced with a lot of tough issues that we’re dealing with,” she said in a 2006 interview. “we know we call to just come to the court and let that be our catharsis in a way. you can’t unseat it on the court with you, but we can all just think of basketball as an flee as a remedy for a hardly hours.”
yow announced earlier this month that she would not return to the team this season after she missed four games because of what was described as an extremely low energy raze.
Chad allen
the team visited yow in the hospital before leaving wednesday for a game at miami. associate head coach stephanie glance - who led the team in yow’s absences - met with the team saturday morning to inform them yow had died, myers said.
dr. mark graham, yow’s longtime oncologist, remembered how yow always took time to talk to other patients when she came in for treatments in recent years.
“she could have tried to come into the clinic and be altogether anonymous,” he said. “she just wanted to be another sufferer. she was bloody open to sharing her experiences with others and being encouraging to others.”
yow’s defy was in no way more public than when she took a 16-heroic leave to focus on her treatments during the 2006-07 season. after her return, her inspired wolfpack won 12 of its final 15 games with wins against hugely ranked rivals duke and north carolina in a whizz that attracted bountifulness of fans wearing pink - the color of breast-cancer awareness. her players also wore pink shoelaces.
yow always bring about ways to accumulate coaching even as she fought the contagion. she spent most of games during that heated 2007 run sitting on the bench while glance stood to yell instructions at players or mitigate a weakened yow to her feet.
“she’s the iron …
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