Yow in Her Element

Yow in Her Element
By JON MARKS, Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- No, this night never was Kay Yow's dream. How could it
be? There would've been nothing to base it on.

So, standing on the podium Friday at the Springfield Civic Center,
surrounded by fellow inductees such as Magic Johnson, Larry Brown and the
Harlem Globetrotters, the soft-spoken Gibsonville native, who's been guiding
N.C. State women's basketball since 1975, couldn't help but wonder what she
was doing there.

Not that her credentials -- 625 career victories, a gold medal at the 1988
Olympics in Seoul -- don't merit the honor.

But the idea of being only the fifth woman's coach after Tennessee's Pat
Summitt, Texas' Jody Conradt, Delta State's Margaret Wade and UCLA's Billie
Moore to join the Basketball Hall of Fame was never in her plans.

But then, neither was coaching.

"There were no national championships when I started out or Olympic teams
for women," Yow recalled earlier in the day when she was presented with her
commemorative jacket. "I didn't have any role models growing up. There were
very few women coaches. It was mostly men.

"But my first year coaching I knew this was what I wanted to do. I had gone
to college and I always felt something was missing, but I never ever knew
what it was until I started coaching. The moment I started coaching I moved
back into my element."

Almost four decades later, Yow's zeal for the game hasn't changed. The wins
and the accolades she's piled up, first at Elon College and then at N.C.
State, are impressive. But what has made her time special are the players
and coaches she's crossed paths with along the way -- including fellow
inductee and coach Brown, who played at North Carolina.

"Kay I met when I was with the [ABA's Carolina] Cougars a long time ago,"
Brown said. "We talked basketball a number of times. I've always been a fan
of hers and I'm mindful of what she's had to go through with her health
issues. I think it's neat that she's going in."

The respect is mutual.

"He's been so gracious to me through the years," Yow said. "When Larry
coached the USA team at the World University Games back in the '80s, ... he
allowed me to watch his practices. I even sat in on the coach's meetings."

Part of the tradition of the Hall of Fame is that each inductee gets to
choose his or her presenter, the requirement being that person already is
enshrined in the Hall.

For Yow it was an easy choice: Anne Donovan, the former Old Dominion star,
who later played for her in the World Championships and the Olympics.

"It's special for a coach to have a player introduce the coach," Yow said.
"Players know the coach more than anybody. And we've been in a lot of
battles together."

Donovan came through again.

"What sets coach Yow apart from her peers are more than her record and
accolades," Donovan began after a video tribute which included former
Wolfpack players as well as longtime rival Summitt. "I can honestly tell you
my life was hugely impacted by playing for coach Yow."

Finally, it was time for Yow to take the stage. After telling about her
early start in basketball, she expressed her gratitude to her relatives and
her Wolfpack family.

But as grand as the occasion was, Yow couldn't help but call to mind a
lesson she learned upon winning her first conference title at Elon three
decades ago.

"As the buzzer sounded and the game ended, towels and water bottles were
thrown into the air. Everyone was on the floor congratulating me and I was
somewhere in the clouds. As my principal approached me I anticipated the
words, 'Well done.'

"Instead, these words were spoken. 'Kay, you brought up 12 towels here. Now
I want you to take 12 towels back. Count the towels.'

"In other words, it's great to win but don't forget you have responsibility
and that you are accountable. And so tonight I humbly accept this award on
behalf of so many others. As I do this, the marquee is still flashing,
'Count the towels.' "

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