NC State’s run to the Final Four gives a sense of pride to those who were with Wolfpack while they were down

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GLENDALE, Ariz. – Sometimes you can just feel their presence. All day. Every day. That’s how Debbie Yow described it. 

NC State’s former AD wouldn’t be the first to describe what it’s like to constantly exist in the orbit of Duke and North Carolina on Tobacco Road. She certainly is one of the most articulate on that subject heading into the Final Four. 

“What I didn’t appreciate fully before I came home in 2010 [is] what it would feel like day-to -day with them as close as they are — 35-40 minutes depending on traffic,”  said Yow, who has been retired since 2019.

NC State was “home” because both of Yow’s sisters had been historic figures at the school. Kay won 737 games in her hall of fame career, spending 33 years with the Wolfpack women. Susan became the Wolfpack’s first female All-American in 1976. 

They all felt the presence. 

“There is constant conversation,” Debbie Yow said. “It would be like Kansas and Kansas State except there are three of them. The bragging rights matter. They have owned us for a period of time in men’s basketball. To break through that really matters.”

The breakthrough against the state’s two dominant basketball powers has migrated all the way to the desert. In fact, NC State got here by beating Duke twice in 17 days. North Carolina was wiped out in the ACC Tournament Championship Game in one of the nine do-or-die games the Wolfpack have faced since finishing the regular season 17-14.  

“I will say I never liked UNC, ever,” NC State leading scorer DJ Horne told reporters on Friday. “Just put that out there.” 

Just so you know.

NC State hasn’t celebrated – or gloated — like this prior to a Final Four, well, perhaps ever. Make that Final Fours. Yow is significant for this discussion because she hired both NC State coaches who have made it this far. Veteran coach Wes Moore – hired by Yow in 2013 — led the Wolfpack women to the national semifinals a…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/nc-states-run-to-the-final-four-gives-a-sense-of-pride-to-those-who-were-with-wolfpack-while-they-were-down/

Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2024-04-06 01:04:43

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