Harper to be Named NCState Head Coach

[PlayingTag]

Kelly Jolly Harper, head coach of Western Carolina will be named North Carolina State head women's coach on Thurday. Harper played her college ball at Tennessee.

Just came over the newswire. NCS has called a news conference for Thursday to announce the hiring.

[ChipperF1]

Congratulations #14!!!!!!!!!!!

She was a hotly competitive point guard...and I think Kelmika will make a fine coach at the major level :)

[Scamp]

Congratulations #14!!!!!!!!!!!

She was a hotly competitive point guard...and I think Kelmika will make a fine coach at the major level :)Chipper, who is Kelmika?

As for NC State, there have been a lot of hurt feelings about the way Stephanie Glance was tossed aside. I hope the administration makes it up to her, and the fans, somehow. (Yes, I'm naive enough to want that.)

[mc6821]

I think that Chipper meant Kelmique :rotflol:

[Scamp]

I think that Chipper meant Kelmique :rotflol:OK, I'll bite. Who is "Kelmique"? :confused:

p.s. Oh, wait a minute. Is this a Lady Vols mash-up?

[jcarter]

great hire by NC State :)

[Dale8R]

Is Cullowhee to Raleigh the right move for Harper?
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009904150343

N.C. State lost a legend when Kay Yow died of cancer in January; the school has done an impressive job of honoring the woman and her legacy ever since.

Until now.

When it became apparent that cancer would claim her life, Yow made it clear that her wishes included a say in her successor. There's a valid argument that her loyalty and success to all things Wolfpack gave her that right.

Yow wanted longtime assistant coach Stephanie Glance, a woman with WNC roots, to become the permanent coach, replacing the interim tag she inherited when Yow became too ill to continue this past season prior to her death.

There are published reports that athletic director Lee Fowler is not going to honor Yow's wishes, a baffling decision if it is accurate.

Let's face it; this is women's basketball we're talking about. Football and men's basketball demands success without sentiment, and an AD has to make coaching choices that affect millions in revenues and soothing the passions of tens of thousands of supporters.

But when Yow from virtually her deathbed asks for a favor based on her 34 years of service and nearly 700 wins at N.C. State, that wish should be granted unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise.

Enter Harper, who could be walking into a position where anger, hurt and disappointment may prevent full support from the Wolfpack faithful.

[jcarter]

Kellie is one of a very few players that have three national championships.:):):)

[Bball Girl]

Wow..I think highly of Kelly Harper as a player and as a coach. But I have very mixed feelings about this move. I can understand the university wanting to move on and wanting new blood and all of that. On the other hand, Coach Glance has done a great job in a trying few years. I wouldn't want to be Kelly going into this job...so soon.

[PlayingTag]

Ok, so the sentimental choice was Glance, and I am sure she is a very good coach, but to compete in that league with the likes of NC, Duke and Florida State, just to name a few, you have to have a great coach. Was Glance? I just don't know, and we probably won't ever know. But from NCStates POV, they wanted someone they thought was great. The didn't want a repeat of what occurred to the NC men's program-hiring the longtime assistant who was a great assistant but was not able to move one seat over with the same success. Bill Gutherie was a great assistant coach, but he regressed the NC men's program. That is not to say Glance would do the same, but the PTB wanted their own choice and Harper got the call.

I think NCState rolled the dice. Unless they are very good, very quickly, Harper will be under pressure. I like the hire.

[tx4OU]

Ok, so the sentimental choice was Glance, and I am sure she is a very good coach, but to compete in that league with the likes of NC, Duke and Florida State, just to name a few, you have to have a great coach. Was Glance? I just don't know, and we probably won't ever know. But from NCStates POV, they wanted someone they thought was great. The didn't want a repeat of what occurred to the NC men's program-hiring the longtime assistant who was a great assistant but was not able to move one seat over with the same success. Bill Gutherie was a great assistant coach, but he regressed the NC men's program. That is not to say Glance would do the same, but the PTB wanted their own choice and Harper got the call.

I think NCState rolled the dice. Unless they are very good, very quickly, Harper will be under pressure. I like the hire.
When I read the article posted by Dale8R:
But when Yow from virtually her deathbed asks for a favor based on her 34 years of service and nearly 700 wins at N.C. State, that wish should be granted unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise.

Enter Harper, who could be walking into a position where anger, hurt and disappointment may prevent full support from the Wolfpack faithful.
The first thing that popped into my head were of all the infamous baseball curses:
'Curse of the Bambino': The Boston Red Sox sold superstar Babe Ruth to bitter rivals New York Yankees in 1920. They did not win a World Series again until 2004, by which time the Yankees had won 26 times.
'Curse of the Black Sox': In 1919, eight Chicago White Sox players were banned for life for throwing the World Series. Their team did not win the season finale again until 2005.
'Curse of the Billy Goat': In 1945, tavern owner William Sianis jinxed his beloved Chicago Cubs when he and his pet goat were ejected from a game. The curse continues.Not trying to be blasphemous with respect to the still very fresh wound of our beloved Kay Yow's death, but as PlayingTag says: Unless they are very good, very quickly, anyone but Glance will feel intense pressure. My crystal ball says there will be a new curse yet to be named by some sports writer that will go down in WCB folklore.

[ChipperF1]

"Kelmika"
During the 1998 39-0 season for Tennessee, they had a Chamique (Holdsclaw), a Tamika (Catchings) and a Semeka (Randall), There were so many "mikas" on the team that whole team started added ika to their name...Ace Clement was the first to do, and then the other did...except for Kellie Jolly....until late in the season when Jolly had a streak of clutch shots in key games all the way to the National Final win...The whole team started calling her "Kel-mika" and the name just stuck.

As far as the whole situation, I understand both sides of it. N.C. State's administrations wants to make a power move, however I also understand the value of loyalty to Yow and Glance being hired would be a sign of that. Also consider how fans would react to Glance being named the permanent head coach. Most of rally around that.

I just hope any healing needed will be done quickly. Kellie Jolly proved herself in the mid-majors by building a program. She will be a quick study and a competitive coach at N.C. State, but she'll need fan support.

As for needing a "great" coach? Hmm. I find the word overused at times. There are very few "great" coaches around There are a lot of good ones and some very good ones. The ACC as a league does not have a great coach in it. It has some very competitive ones, but "great" is an oversell. Most of even major conferences are much the same.

[Scamp]

I knew about "the meeks" (who weren't very meek...especially Semeka Randall!), but not the "mikas."

************************************************** ******

Mechelle's blog post is over in the RSS Feed, but ought to be linked to here as well.

How should we view N.C. State’s decision?

... In the end, it’s as stark as this: N.C. State chose not to honor Kay Yow’s wish that Glance would be her successor. The school had the right to do that, of course.

But whether having the right and actually being right are, in fact, two different things … in this case, that remains to be seen.

http://voepel.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/how-should-we-view-nc-states-decision/

[ChipperF1]

The "mikas" was the team's term for the Meeks...Same thing

[ChipperF1]

"The didn't want a repeat of what occurred to the NC men's program-hiring the longtime assistant who was a great assistant but was not able to move one seat over with the same success. Bill Gutherie was a great assistant coach, but he regressed the NC men's program.

Three years as head coach...and Two Final Four trips..I'll take that kind of regression any day of the week. ;)

I have a feeling N.C. State was actively looking to turn the page and they could have had a case to fire Kay Yow 5 years ago, of course it would have been quite a firestorm if they did.

Yow had longevity and won a lot of games. But in her career, 10 Sweet 16 appearances with 1 Final Four. In the last ten seasons, One Sweet 16 appearance. Three failures to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

You will not see many coaches like a Yow in a college sport that gets mass media attention anymore. Very few if any will get a 25-year lease on a job. If Yow was axed after after 2003, or 2004...You could see why. 11-17? 17-15? As you see Duke, Maryland and North Carolina racing into the tournament and into the national consciousness. That won't do.
But at the same time, can you fire someone as universally respected as Yow and deal with the political fallout from it? Could you announce on ESPN while Kay Yow is getting chemo that "We've decided to relieve Kay Yow of her duties"?

If some N.C. State fans decide that they want to not support the program, let 'em go. If Kellie Jolly Harper puts the numbers on the board and gets wins, they'll be back. Winning changes everything. I do

I don't fault N.C. State's athletic administration for the decision they made, but the stories surrounding things seems to suggest that there wasn't much coordination or communication surrounding the decision. I have a feeling that in some way, people weren't straight with coach Yow and were evasive to coach Glance. The Wolfpack admins needed to be cruel to be kind. They perhaps needed to see directly to Yow, "Kay, we love you...but when you step down we are turning the page and bringing in a new coach from the outside. We want you to be a part of the transition. We want you to be on the search committee. Glance will always have a place here at N.C. State if she chooses to stay. We are not going to leave her twisting in the wind, but this program will see change."
Yes, it isn't easy but it would avoid some of the issues that may come up now.

One thing coach Harper has on her side...She has "The Godmama". I think at least a few fans are going to look at her background as a coach and as a player and say, "If she's good enough for Pat Summitt, she's good enough for me".

And you can bet coach Summitt has told coach Harper to pay due respect to the patron. In that first presser, you make nice, you kiss Kay Yow's ring. You give due deference and then you get to work and put up the wins.

[Dale8R]

Glance, Yow's staff pack up at NCSU
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ncsu/womens_basketball/story/1487873.html

In another article, the writer suggested that maybe Glance would wind up at Western Carolina. That could work.

Others have covered the subject so well that there is little I could possibly add, but I will say that KJH is going to have fences to mend and is going to have to produce right now, no breaking in period, no when I get MY recruits in blah,blah. I think she can do it.

[PlayingTag]

You can pump Gutherie all you want, but he took over a cadillac and by the end of his tenure NC had undergone a steep slide from where it was before him and after his 4 years he was driving a mid sized family sedan. The talent level wasn't near to what he took over. To proclaim his two final 4s as a positive may sound good, but with the talent he inherited, . . . well.

Frank Solich was able to go to a National Championship game after Osborne left, but it was clear he had allowed the program to slide down. A clear regression, and a regression that the NU fans like the Carolina fans deemed unacceptable.

Gutherie was a good coach and a nice guy, but under his governorship, the program dropped a couple of levels. To say it didn't is revising history and betraying the facts. Quit it.

[Dale8R]

A couple more adds from the News&Observer

State should hire the best for women's team
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/tudor/story/1481661.html

Pack supporters await decision on Yow's successor
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ncsu/womens_basketball/story/1484944.html

[ChipperF1]

I agree Dale, but I hope fans don't get the itchy trigger finger before KJH has had a chance. Give the new coach a chance to mend those fences and realize that it isn't going to happen overnight. It never does.

[OhMandy]

When I read the article posted by Dale8R:

The first thing that popped into my head were of all the infamous baseball curses:
Not trying to be blasphemous with respect to the still very fresh wound of our beloved Kay Yow's death, but as PlayingTag says: Unless they are very good, very quickly, anyone but Glance will feel intense pressure. My crystal ball says there will be a new curse yet to be named by some sports writer that will go down in WCB folklore.

There are no such things as curses. Only loser fans, Red Sox, Cubs etc hang onto that BS. These curses just help some jerk sports writer, Dan S of Boston, sell books.

This curse BS has grown because the Eastern Seaboard Programming Network always talks about this BS.

BTW the billygoat curse is just BS. A book about the 1969 Chokes, I mean Cubs, NEVER mentioned some stupid billygoat curse.

Why does Glance deserve a shot? Because she has been Coach Yow's assistant for a long time? If that is the only reason, then I can understand why NC St went a different direction.

[tx4OU]

There are no such things as curses. Only loser fans, Red Sox, Cubs etc hang onto that BS. These curses just help some jerk sports writer, Dan S of Boston, sell books.

This curse BS has grown because the Eastern Seaboard Programming Network always talks about this BS.

BTW the billygoat curse is just BS. A book about the 1969 Chokes, I mean Cubs, NEVER mentioned some stupid billygoat curse.

Why does Glance deserve a shot? Because she has been Coach Yow's assistant for a long time? If that is the only reason, then I can understand why NC St went a different direction.
Man......
I hope you don't own any postal employee uniforms.:eek:

[Tiff-B12]

Man......
I hope you don't own any postal employee uniforms.:eek:

Thank you for giving me the laugh of the day, with that one!!!!! :rotflol:

and Happy Birthday :D

[tx4OU]

Thank you for giving me the laugh of the day, with that one!!!!! :rotflol:

and Happy Birthday :D
Why thank you very much!!!! I don't know why, but I still expect the same kind of birthdays I used to have when I was a kid. My mom and dad always took us and our neighbor's family to Spring Lake Amuzement Park in OKC for my birthdays. And she'd always bake my favorite apple cake. I remember the year my dad let me ride the Big Dipper by myself. Good Times!:)

Today, I'm home by myself and have done absolutely nothing but work on the garage (organizing) and the yard (planting more plants). How things change as we get older.:oo

[Tiff-B12]

Why thank you very much!!!! I don't know why, but I still expect the same kind of birthdays I used to have when I was a kid. My mom and dad always took us and our neighbor's family to Spring Lake Amuzement Park in OKC for my birthdays. And she'd always bake my favorite apple cake. I remember the year my dad let me ride the Big Dipper by myself. Good Times!:)

Today, I'm home by myself and have done absolutely nothing but work on the garage (organizing) and the yard (planting more plants). How things change as we get older.:oo

:D.... ohhhh sooo true.... it is the 'Child within' that keeps us YOUNG at heart ;) so keep on 'thinking' about those younger days..... and remember, we might be getting a little 'older' each year but we are just like that 'fine' wine..... we get BETTER with age ;);)

hmmmm now for some Strange reason I want 'Apple cake'.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - No matter How you Celebrated....:D

[OhMandy]

Man......
I hope you don't own any postal employee uniforms.:eek:

I'm glad you replaced your fry cook uniform for a janitor's uniform.

[tx4OU]

I'm glad you replaced your fry cook uniform for a janitor's uniform.
Okay, I can take a joke. I'm having a good laugh at that.;)

[Scamp]

Debbie Antonelli, who played for Kay Yow at NC State, was the only "basketball person" on the advisory committee which weighed in on Yow's successor. She is "not happy" and "very disappointed" in the decision to not hire Stephanie Glance. Antonelli said she'd talk about this just this one time: the 04/20/09 WBCA podcast. http://www.wbca.org/Archive.asp

[OhMandy]

Debbie Antonelli, who played for Kay Yow at NC State, was the only "basketball person" on the advisory committee which weighed in on Yow's successor. She is "not happy" and "very disappointed" in the decision to not hire Stephanie Glance. Antonelli said she'd talk about this just this one time: the 04/20/09 WBCA podcast. http://www.wbca.org/Archive.asp

There is rarely many "basketball only" people on any search committee.

Instead of being not happy and all this BS, they should accept the decision and support Coach Harper.

[Dale8R]

Oh, I think that's exactly what's going to happen -- they'll support her unconditionally when it comes to shove time. I think she's that good.

[jcarter]

I think they needed a new direction and Kellie will do a great job.

[TTU79]

Chipper is right. They need to give her ample time. One or 2 years is not going to do it. Improvement takes time and remember she's coming in at a time that is in the middle of early signing time so she's already behind in recruiting before she even gets there. The same thing happened to Coach Curry but people seem to forget that. The team of 2010-2011 will be the first Lady Raider team composed entirely of Curry recruits.