The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1466831
MAY/JUNE 2022 ■ 37 it to another level. I wanted to be part of the NC State legacy. "I think we have done that over the last four years, not even in the wins or the championships, but in the culture that we bring to the team." While Cunane, Perez, Crutchfield and Jones led the way for the season, they tried to pass on as much of their knowledge and leadership skills as possible to those who will be required to play major roles go- ing forward: swing player Jakia Brown-Turner, power forward Jada Boyd and post Camille Hobby, all of whom were juniors this past sea- son, and of course Johnson, who was a sophomore point guard and the winner of ACC Sixth Player of the Year honors. "We know we're leaving," Cunane said near the end of this season. "And we're leaving the next group of kids to grow up in this program. I think that we've just tried our best to help them grow, to teach them." Historic Proportions The 32 games that Moore's team won this past season are the most in school history, going back to the program's inaugural season of 1974- 75. The 2021-22 season marked the sixth time in his nine years at the helm that he's guided his team to 25 or more victories, something that occurred eight times under Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow and never under her successor, Kellie Harper, now the head coach at Tennessee. Only once in her career did Yow, for whom Moore once worked as an as- sistant coach (1993-95), win more than 25 games in three consecutive seasons: 29-5, 27-7 and 28-8 from 1977-80, be- fore women's basketball was governed by the NCAA. Yow's teams were often led to great success by All-America players like Linda "Hawkeye" Page, who helped the Wolfpack to a 25-6 mark and an ACC championship in 1984-85; like Andrea Stinson, who helped post 25-6 and 27-6 records, respectively, from 1989-90 and 1990-91; and like Chasity Melvin, who in 1997-98 led the Wolfpack to the only Final Four appearance in school history. Yow's final 25-win campaign was dur- ing the emotional 2006-07 season, in which the coach left the team for cancer treatment, then returned in time to lead it past North Carolina and Duke, both of which were ranked second nationally at the time of those games, and eventually to the 11th Sweet Sixteen appearance of her Hall of Fame career. Moore's consistent success is particu- larly impressive given some of the ob- stacles he's had to overcome. For two years, his team played its home games at nearby Broughton High School while historic Reynolds Coli- seum was undergoing long-overdue renovations that turned the arena into an even more difficult place for opponents to play. He's navigated the uncertain times created by COVID-19 and the recruiting anarchy that has been brought on by the advent of the transfer portal. Moore's past four teams have fin- ished ranked in the top 10 in both women's college basketball polls, unprecedented in program history. Those accomplishments have earned him three ACC Coach of the Year awards and the 2020-21 Women's Basketball Coaches Asso- ciation National Coach of the Year accolade. Keeping It Rolling With three of this past year's seniors in WNBA camps, look- ing to start the next chapters of their lives, Moore has to sit back and ponder the future of his pro- gram. Those with extra time can lament what might have been for Moore's team this year, had it not faced Connecticut in the NCAA Elite Eight in a place where nei- ther Geno Auriemma nor any of his players have ever had to pick up a tab. But that's not a luxury Moore can afford. " What we have to do is keep it all going for the seniors that kept us going this year. We're not going to let them down. It's really up to us to carry it and keep it going. And I think that the talent is there for us to do that. I think it's going to be pretty cool to see what next year holds. And I'm definitely looking forward to it. " Diamond Johnson Coach Wes Moore has guided NC State to the Sweet 16 or beyond in each of the past four seasons in which the NCAA Tournament has been held. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN