Kay Yow is still very much a presence in the North Carolina State women's basketball program.Her name is on the athletic department's Wall of Fame, and on the basketball court at Reynolds Coliseum. Her photo still hangs in the women's basketball locker room.
"She was North Carolina State basketball, and you don't and you can't wipe that away with a new staff," said new N.C. State head coach Kellie Jolly Harper.
Harper is making one of the toughest transitions in college basketball this season. She is taking over the Wolfpack program, moving it in a new direction after the passing of Yow last January following a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
Yow fought bravely and publicly, her players and coaching staff rode the ups and downs of her treatment with her until her death. Stephanie Glance, Yow's assistant of 15 years took over the program until the end of the season and was the favorite of many who supported the program to take the job permanently.
But the administration was looking for a fresh start and Harper, who was a star guard at Tennessee under Pat Summitt and coached Western Carolina to two NCAA appearances in five seasons, was offered the job.
Harper said saying yes was not automatic.
"I made sure I did my homework," Harper said. "I had to talk to different people, to make sure I understood the landscape. Being a young coach, I did not want to jeopardize my future by putting myself in a bad situation. But after visiting the campus and talking to people and the players, I knew it was going to be a good situation."
Among those she talked to was her former coach, Summitt.
"It was important to me for her to have that confidence in me," Harper said. "Having her tell me that she thought it was a great fit for me and a great fit for N.C. State, that pushed it over the top for me."
Harper accepted the job and said she knew she had done the right thing when the North Carolina State coaches did their annual caravan around the state.
"I was 100 percent sure," Harper said.
Now comes the hard part, moving the program to a new place. Harper said her focus has been on the players.
"I can't imagine what those kids went through the last couple of years," Harper said. "Not only dealing with the loss of their head coach, but still trying to be student-athletes, with the uncertainty of the future of the program. There were so many things weighing on them."
The Wolfpack returns four starters and three seniors to the team that struggled to a 13-17 mark last season. Her starting lineup in Monday's exhibition game included junior Amber White, who missed last season with an Achilles tendon injury and sophomore Bonae Holston, who led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Harper, for her part, has worked hard to be visible and accessible, let the community in Raleigh get to know her better.
"I want to meet the fans, I want to get myself out in front of them," Harper said. "I want our program to be supported. I want them to step out and play in front of big crowds. I feel like they deserve that."
EXHIBITION FUN: The games that mean nothing have begun. Division I teams around the land playing an exhibition game or two before the real action begins next week.
That doesn't mean some of the scores aren't interesting.
For example, Tennessee defeated Cardinal Newman 124-34 a couple of days after Pat Summitt said her team has been overrated in the national polls. A 90-point win might not be a portend for the Final Four, but it certainly suggests that the Lady Vols have plenty of offensive game. Six players scored in double figures.
At one point in the first half, junior Angie Bjorklund had more points individually than Cardinal Newman had collectively as a team.
On the opposite coast, Oregon tried out its new fast-break offense under coach Paul Westhead and defeated Southern Oregon 109-47. Oregon got to triple digits without senior guard Taylor Lilley, who missed the game with an ankle injury.
Oregon hadn't hit double-digits on the scoreboard in any game -- exhibition or otherwise -- since 2005 and not at home since 1998.
