Wolfpack faces tough decision on Glance
N.C. State interim head coach Stephanie Glance sits on the bench with her assistants leaving a seat for the late Kay Yow. Yow died after a long battle with breast cancer on January 24, 2009.
Mar 5, 2009
North Carolina State faces a much harder decision on its women's basketball program than you might think, and that's why athletics director Lee Fowler has been cautious in deciding who will follow Kay Yow.
Many believe the Wolfpack should simply give the job to Stephanie Glance, the dedicated and able assistant who has been the interim coach since Yow stepped down. Even Yow, long before she died, pushed Fowler to name Glance her successor.
Fowler refused, believing the school would be better served by a search.
Glance may well get the job, but this is no easy choice. The weight of Fowler's decision on whether to hire Glance, or go a different direction, was obvious when State lost at home to North Carolina.
UNC athletics director Dick Baddour sat on press row at that game, dressed casually in a light blue sweater and watching from across the Carolina bench as Sylvia Hatchell's more talented team wore down N.C. State.
Diagonally across Reynolds Coliseum, in a corner behind the Wolfpack bench, was Fowler - blue jacket, red tie, standing alone with his hands in his pockets and watching as the game unfolded. After a Carolina fastbreak basket with less than three minutes to play, Fowler turned and left the gym as if he'd seen what he needed to see.
There is much at stake here on several levels. Yow's death cost N.C. State a national figure, a Hall of Fame coach whose program was consistently competitive.
That's not the case across the board at N.C. State, where ACC championships are few. The football team hasn't won one since 1979, the men's basketball team since 1987 and the baseball team since 1992.
State won the ACC men's and women's cross country titles in 2006 and the wrestling title recently as well. But N.C. State is not one of the ACC's elite athletic programs. The Wolfpack was ranked 56th in the country - and 10th in the ACC - in the final standings for the 2008 Director's Cup, which ranks athletic programs across the board.
State needs its women's basketball program to be strong. It has a great tradition and a fine facility in Reynolds, but faces some real challenges. North Carolina and Duke are entrenched as elite national programs and other ACC programs - most notably Maryland - have made huge strides in the sport. UNC opens renovated Carmichael Auditorium next season and Duke made a smart choice in Joanne P. McCallie as head coach.
The emotion of the recent months involving Yow doesn't hide the fact that State is in a tough spot. Hiring Glance would continue the link to Yow and the family atmosphere Yow developed at N.C. State. But even the best programs can lose altitude quickly after promoting respected assistants, as UNC found with Carl Torbush and Bill Guthridge and State learned with Mike O'Cain.
I went to several Wolfpack women's games this year, and the atmosphere wasn't what I expected. The Wolfpack averaged 2,292 fans this season, sixth in the ACC. But that total includes the 8,560 who came for Hoops for Hope after Yow's death. Take out that total and you have only 1,844 fans at an average Wolfpack game.
Duke, by comparison, averaged 6,655 and Carolina 3,979.
In watching Glance, I saw an engaged coach who worked with players, explained strategy, and dealt with the media with grace.
But can she lead over the long haul? Can she make State competitive with Duke and Carolina? Can she produce teams that draw fans to Reynolds Coliseum and get fans excited about Wolfpack basketball?
And most importantly, can she recruit the players State will need to be an elite program again? Even the Wolfpack women haven't won the ACC since 1991 and this team finished the regular season 13-16.
Perhaps Glance can. But the risk here is great. Yow's mystique will fade. The choice here is not just about honoring the past but preparing for future seasons in which the Wolfpack faces real challenges in women's basketball.
The wrong decision on a coach, however well-intentioned, could leave State with an empty gym and fading memories. Fowler is wise to be patient and not rush the decision on the next leader for a program with a great past and uncertain future.
