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Kay Yow As State's Men's Basketball Coach?

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After watching State's women's basketball team coached by Kay Yow and lead by center Trena Trice defeat the number one seeded and nationally ranked Virginia team 57-56 in the 1987 ACC women's tournament, I wondered if Kay Yow could coach State's men's team. That thought resurfaced after Jimmy Valvano was fired and State was looking for a men's basketball coach. I knew Coach Yow had the knowledge and coaching skill to coach a men's team, but the question which gave me pause was one concerning her ability to recruit the best high school players for the men's team. Everyone knew she could do that for the women's team, but what about for the men's team? It would certainly have been bold if State had named Yow men's coach instead of hiring Les Robinson. I doubt Coach Yow gave that more than a passing thought, but, at that time, it would have made history.

While State did not make history in naming a woman as a men's basketball coach, the NBA San Antonio Spurs did by naming Becky Hammon as an assistant coach and as the coach of their summer league team which by the way won the championship of summer league play.

Hammon has extraordinary basketball experience having played high school basketball in South Dakota where she was named South Dakota's Miss Basketball, having played college basketball for the Colorado State Rams where she was an All-American, having played in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and having played for the Russian National team in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics after becoming a naturalized Russian Citizen in 2008, a move for which she took some flak. Despite the above experience, how will Hammon fare when coaching seasoned NBA players?

She was successful in coaching the Spurs' 2015 summer league team; however, the players on that team for the greater part were 2015 draft picks and 2014-2015 rookies. Such players are just trying to make the team. What happens when a woman tries to coach players with the status of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, both of which are known to question their male head coach, question being a polite word here?

In looking for experience with regard to a woman coaching a men's team, I spoke with Dr. Jenise Mancini who coached boy's soccer in Prince William County, Virginia for eight years. During that period she coached boys in the age range of eight to sixteen. In the league in which she coached, Dr. Mancini was the only woman coaching boys' soccer. Asked if objection to her coaching boys was present during that period, Dr. Mancini said that some parents had issues, but no other coach did. Dr. Mancini stated that she never saw herself as a woman coaching boys; she only saw herself as a coach. Asked about coaching high school boys' soccer or collegiate men's' soccer, Dr. Mancini's opinion was coaching boys in high school would be more difficult than coaching men in college.

Of course in college, the recruiting issue returns.

Dr. Mancini besides being a recognized volunteer, coach, league director and Coach Recruiter for the Prince William Courage, Prince William Soccer, Inc. and Recreational Program of Prince William Soccer, is a current co-house commissioner of the Prince William Courage. Note that Courage Alumni Ali Krieger is a member of the United States Women's National Team, the World Cup 2015 champs.

Men coaching women's teams in collegiate basketball and softball is on the rise. State has Coach Wes Moore successfully coaching the women's basketball team and Coach Shawn Rychcik successfully coaching the softball team. Dr. Mancini agrees that women can more easily be coached by a man than men can be coached by a woman. A good number of women playing softball and basketball collegiately were coached by their father or the father of another team member on pre-high school teams, or by a male in high school. Instances are rare where a woman coached a boys' or men's team.

Jemale Hill on the July 26th, 2015 edition of the Sports Reporters stated that what is more important than Hammond becoming the first female NBA coach is what follows. Here is one following. The NFL Arizona Cardinals have named Jen Welter as a training camp/preseason intern coaching the team's inside linebackers. Welter has football experience playing for several women's semi-pro teams and the Texas Revolution of the Indoor Football League where she as a running back entered a game on February 15, 2014 and made three carries for minus one yard. On February 12, 2015 Welter was introduced as the Revolution's new linebackers and special teams coach.

State could have been "ahead of the times" had they named Coach Yow as men's coach in 1990, but they were not so bold, "bold" likening to True Grits' Ned Pepper stating that was "bold" talk for a one-eyed fat man. In other words, I think Kay could have done it.

By the way, Yow's 1991 team also won the ACC tournament championship beating Clemson in a crush 84-61.