The Wolfpacker

58 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY BRIAN RAPP F irst-year NC State women's basketball head coach Wes Moore heard the question again and again this past winter, as did his players. How did the Wolfpack, after losing its leading scorer from a team that managed only a .500 record a year ago, produce a 25-8 mark this season, the program's best record in the last 17 years? There are many answers, but the one common reply heard from both coach and players, again and again, was simply: "We were hungry." "I had people tell me, 'Just do the best you can for your first year,'" said Moore, who replaced Kellie Harper four years after she was hired following the death of Kay Yow in 2010. "Now, some coaches have told me I blew it by doing so well, because now we've raised expectations. "But I really thought we had some good talent here. And I was very fortunate that the seniors bought in and made it fun for me. You never know how that first year will go. It can be brutal, especially with so many seniors [six, the most since the 2006-07 season], but they made it, by far, the best first year I've ever had at any school." Moore's .767 winning percentage (558-169) in his 24 years of coaching prior to coming to Raleigh was one major reason NC State's veterans made his first year skippering the Pack a re- sounding success. "We all made up our minds to do whatever the coaching staff told us to do," senior forward Kody Burke said. "In years past, maybe we were thinking if we didn't accomplish something, 'I've got next year.' This year, we all realized this was it — we were done," senior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman added. "We all bought in." The players also said Moore's no-nonsense, straightforward ap- proach played a part in the Pack's turnaround from three straight lower-than-expected season results. "There was a lot more discipline," Goodwin-Coleman pointed out. "He held each of us accountable." "Again, I think that starts with the players," Moore said. "They were maybe a little more mature, a little bit hungrier to do well and have success, and that made it easier to buy in to what we wanted them to do. "I try not to sugar-coat anything — I just tell you this is the way it is — and I think players want that. They want to know what they need to do better, or differently, if they're going to have success." To help build the Wolfpack program, Moore put together a hand- picked staff. A GRAND FINALE The Seniors Follow A New Coach To The Pack's Best Record In 17 Years Senior center Markeisha Gatling became the focal point of the Wolf- pack's offense in 2013-14, scoring a career-best 17.4 points per game. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN 58-60.Women's BKB Wrapup.indd 58 4/29/14 3:22 PM

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