The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1476803
48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER C oaching, no matter what the sport, is not an open-door profession — even for those who excelled at their sport's highest levels. Maybe especially for those who ex- celled at their sport's highest levels. That's a reality, if not a regret, that for- mer NC State basketball player Chasity Melvin found when she began looking for work again as the sports world emerged from COVID-19-inspired shutdowns, restructures and cuts. After spending the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, Melvin was looking for a job again this spring following a head coaching change. A veteran player, coach and commu- nicator, she looked for other WNBA pos- sibilities and college coaching oppor- tunities, but did not find what she was searching for. So, she did what she's always done when finding herself at a professional crossroads: She returned to North Caro- lina, the state where she was born, raised and became a basketball superstar. Melvin eventually found an opportu- nity she liked, not from her many years of playing college basketball in the state or her 12 years of playing professionally or from the coaching contacts she had made in previous stops. She found it through her older brother. "I had been looking to come back to North Carolina for several years, whether it was for the WNBA, college coaching or in high schools," said the Roseboro na- tive. "It's been very challenging, having played overseas and professionally for a long time. "When I wanted to get into college coaching, people told me I didn't have enough coaching experience. There were a myriad of reasons for that, but a lot of it was relationships. Most coaches hire their assistants off previous rela- tionships." PACK PAST To Chasity Melvin, The Game Was A Gift — Now She Wants To Pay It Forward Melvin, an All-American during her playing days at NC State, was hired in July to coach the girls' basketball team at Green Hope High in Cary. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS