(Guru's note: Here's an AP roundup of reaction to the passing of Hall of Famer and NC State coaching legend Kay Yow. I'll be back with more after the desk shift off emails that have been flooding the in-box, for good reason, Saturday. Some of thiose comments are in this AP story).
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sylvia Hatchell worked as an assistant to Kay Yow
in the Olympics and coached against her for more than 20 years in an
Atlantic Coast Conference rivalry of next-door neighbor programs.
She can’t imagine what it will be like to not see her friend on
the sideline for North Carolina State again.
“Her presence and competitive spirit will be greatly missed in the
ACC,” the North Carolina coach said in a statement after Yow’s death
Saturday following a two-decade fight against cancer. “I don’t know of
anyone in the world of women’s basketball that doesn’t owe a debt of
gratitude to Kay.”
Yow’s death prompted an outpouring of condolences and
recollections, especially from those in the coaching community who
witnessed her long battle with breast cancer. Nearly all remembered
Yow’s grace and courage as she fought the debilitating effects of the
disease, which she was diagnosed with in 1987 and recurred during the
2004-05 season.
She won 737 games in 38 years on the sideline and served on the
board of The V Foundation for Cancer Research. It was founded by ESPN
and former N.C. State men’s coach Jim Valvano, her close friend who
died of cancer in 1993.
Duke men’s coach, Mike Krzyzewski, who’s been active in Coaches
vs. Cancer for years, credited Yow for the “amazing awareness” she
brought to the fight against cancer.
“The really great thing about her was she had the courage to fight
the battle in public,” Krzyzewski said after his second-ranked Blue
Devils beat Maryland on Saturday. “As a result, she not only fought
for her, she fought for everyone who has cancer or will have cancer
and the families involved.”
Duke women’s coach, Joanne P. McCallie, remembered Yow for her
courage, particularly in how open she was as she fought cancer.
“I’ve never known a woman to share her story so eloquently under
such incredible conditions,” she said. “A lot of people are afraid,
they’re afraid to share their story. And Kay was never afraid.
In partnership with The V Foundation, Yow joined efforts with the
Women’s Basketball Coaches Association to launch the Kay Yow/WBCA
Cancer Fund. Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said getting the fund going
“put Kay on a mission.”
“She fought for cancer funding the same way she fought the
disease, positive and determined every step of the way,” Summitt said
in a statement.
Debbie Antonelli, who played for Yow in the mid-1980s, knew her
for more than 30 years and said Yow’s influence went far beyond how
she played the game.
“She’s impacted everything about my personal life, including how I
raise my children,” said Antonelli, a color analyst for FOX. “She gave
a lifetime of service to her faith and to her family and her friends
and certainly to all her former players.”
As news of Yow’s death spread, several schools held a moment of
silence to honor her before games, including the N.C. State-Boston
College, Maryland-Duke, Tennessee-Memphis and Connecticut-Notre Dame
men’s games. There was also a moment of silence before the Kansas
State-Kansas women’s game, where Jayhawks coach Bonnie Henrickson
described Yow as “an unbelievable presence in our profession.”
“You would try to cheer her up and 75 percent of the time, she was
trying to cheer you up. It was never about her,” Henrickson said. “It
was never about her battle. ... I’ve never heard anybody say a bad
word about that woman. And in this business, that doesn’t happen. I
promise you that doesn’t happen.”
Yow’s absence will be most felt by coaches in the ACC, where Yow
has been a fixture for more than three decades. Georgia Tech coach
MaChelle Joseph said Yow “represented what was good about our game,”
while Clemson coach and former Wolfpack player Cristy McKinney
expressed some relief along with sadness that her mentor “is in a
better place” after such a long, painful fight.
As ACC commissioner John Swofford said in a statement, “What an
impact Kay had on so many.”
“She was kind of the soul of our coaching group in the ACC,” said
Virginia coach Debbie Ryan, who has had her own battle with pancreatic
cancer. “It’s just a very, very sad day for all of us.”
———
AP Sports Writers Doug Tucker in Lawrence, Kan., Charles Odum in
Atlanta and Hank Kurz Jr. in Richmond, Va., contributed to this
report.
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