First, could anyone have written a better story for the night that the Reynolds Coliseum court would be dedicated to Coach Yow? If you missed it, NC State beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, then ranked #2, on the newly christened “Kay Yow Court”.
In N.C. Coach a Shining Light, the Charlotte Observer has a wonderful story that is a must read.
Kay Yow has cancer.
The worst kind. Stage 4. Metastasized. The kind that doesn’t go away.
But Wednesday when Yow — in her 32nd season as N.C. State’s women’s basketball coach — walked into her office, she made it seem like any other day.
She admired the three vases of fresh flowers decorating the reception area, chit-chatted with members of her staff, then went back to her office, the swishing of her nylon warm-up pants rubbing, escorting her down the hall.
Yow, 64, hadn’t come from home but from another round of chemotherapy, a weekly ritual that can’t cure the cancer but can, perhaps, prolong her life.
An afternoon practice session approached as Yow sat in a black leather chair in her office, holding a tissue to wipe her runny nose.
“I want to live,” Yow said, pausing. “There are things I want to do.”