Home > Jessie Nunery > Archives > 2009 > January > 24 > Entry
Kay Yow
N.C. State will never be the same again. Women’s basketball coach Kay Yow died Saturday at the age of 66 due to cancer.
I’ve had the chance to interview a lot of different coaches and players, but never Yow. I guess I missed out. She seemed like the kind of person I knew, though. Maybe it was her smile and courage portrayed through different articles and television interviews I’ve seen over the years.
Maybe it was because every nice thing people are saying about Yow is true. She was one of North Carolina’s gems. A famous basketball coach who won plenty of games, but none of that really mattered. It was the way she carried herself and treated others that made her special.
Over the last few seasons, everybody rooted for Yow - even when they were cheering for the other team. Yow was all about basketball without being ALL about basketball. She ultimately succumbed to cancer, but in reality she beat it. She beat it enough times to return to the bench and coach the young women she loved. She beat it by bringing awareness to an issue that touches almost everyone’s life. We all know someone who has been diagnosed with the disease.
Simply put, thanks Coach Yow for everything. I’m sure you would have been a great interview.
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