Technician Online

March 26th, 2007

Journey home a success

By nick on March 26th, 2007

The final day of the trip really provided a lot of insight to what this women’s basketball team was about. As I stood in the back corner of the hotel lobby, I spent a few minutes talking with Susan Yow, Kay’s sister.

She talked briefly about the team and just how much it means to her sister. We also talked about the other staff members and how disappointing it is for the team to leave Fresno, Calif., a couple days earlier than it had hoped.

As we talked about things basketball and non-basketball, Kay ended up taking a seat beside us and in front of the television, hoping to catch a portion of the Tennessee-Marist game. She had just finished taking pictures with quite a few players on the team and it was time for a break.

A little bit into chatting and catching halftime recaps from Saturday night’s games, it was time to catch the flight home. The flight was actually delayed for nearly an hour.

After a short bus ride to the airport, we were just about ready to jump on the flight. The next 10 minutes happened to be one of the funnier moments of the trip.

First, we never even entered the airport. Our airplane was alone outside with nothing around except six security guards. Three sat at a table on the runway, no longer than 10 feet. They’re job was to check in the bags. The other three had metal detector wands – checking every person on the flight.

And that included Yow. I figured she would get some sort of favoritism, but no, not Yow. The security guard checked Yow in every possible way. She forced Yow to take her phone out of her pocket. Then, the guard detected something around Yow’s neck – then came out a necklace. Briefly after a few more seconds of checking, Yow cracked a smile and she was allowed onto the plane.

Everyone pretty much took the same seat as the trip there. The team seemed a little more upbeat than it did Saturday, after the loss.

For the final two hours of the flight, Delta decided to play Rocky Balboa. I wondered if they planned that movie or if that was what they were going to play anyway. The movie was a weird way to end the trip – a movie about a boxer who was against all odds. He has no shot but by then end of the movie, everyone believes in him.

As the plane landed, Yow and her players separated for the final time as the 2006-2007 women’s basketball team. She stepped off the plane and then got bombarded by the band. But being the person Yow is, she happily took pictures with nearly every member and then went on her way.

The journey to Fresno, Calif., was definitely worth missing school and losing sleep to catch up on all the work. Spending almost four full days with the team really showed me how much a person like Yow can impact so many people on her team. The crazy thing is that she inspires many more than just the players in her locker room.

-Nick Jeffreys, Deputy Sports Editor

Posted in Women's NCAA Tournament | No Comments »

March 23rd, 2007

Time change influences team

By nick on March 23rd, 2007

FRESNO, Calif. – The three-hour time change from Raleigh to Fresno, Calif., really seemed to take its toll on everyone today.

After arriving in Fresno, Calif., around 3 p.m. pacific time on Thursday, most everyone – band, cheerleaders and team – seemed ready for bed around 9 p.m.

That meant Friday would just start earlier. And it sure did. Kendra Bell, a former point guard and now graduate assistant, said she woke up a lot earlier than she would have expected.

“Well I woke up first at 6, then again at 6:20,” Bell said. “Then again at 7:14.”

Not surprisingly, I’ve never seen a more alert group of people before 11 a.m. The bus ride to Fresno State, where the team practices, left the hotel at 10:45 a.m. Yesterday’s bus ride to the hotel was the most quiet I’ve ever heard a bus. Today was the most joyous.

The whole team, including managers, sang aloud and went from song-to-song during the 15-minute ride to the campus.

When the bus arrived at its destination, players and coaches checked all of their bags in and prepared for the day.

Coach Kay Yow went and held her press conference at 11:15 a.m., while the players sat in the locker room and the media interviewed them there. Then the Wolfpack had its practice, which was open to the media, from noon to 12:50.

Throughout the practice, State really seemed alert. The team talked, laughed and seemed focused on Saturday’s game against Connecticut.

It is really funny watching the open practices to the media. While the Pack’s was fairly intense at some points, it’s a much different atmosphere than what the team would have during a normal practice.

This practice is 50 minutes. It’s G-rated. And it sure doesn’t give any clues about a game plan. Normal, closed practices aren’t quite the same way.

While Thursday was extremely busy and involved all sorts of tasks, Friday was a much easier day for the team. After practice, the team just had to meet for its lunch and dinner. And from there, State’s only task was to rest for its biggest game of the year on Saturday night.

So far, it’s been a really interesting trip. There were many things that I expected, but the most intriguing thing has been the following of Yow.

Yow has so much going on. Immediately when the team arrived on campus for practice, she was shuffled to her press conference then to another room. She then went to practice and then after that she had more interviews.

Her assistants are always around. Her nurse is always around. Her players always check on her. And the media is at every turn.

While non-game days have been fun to watch, I’m really looking forward to how the team operates on a game day. But tomorrow isn’t a normal game day – it’s a Sweet 16 game against one of the most historic women’s basketball programs ever – should be fun.

-Nick Jeffreys, Deputy Sports Editor

Posted in Women's NCAA Tournament | 1 Comment »

March 22nd, 2007

Day 1: Arrival in Fresno

By nick on March 22nd, 2007

FRESNO, Calif. – After staying up nearly the entire night to get ahead on schoolwork, I was ready to jump on a chartered flight with the women’s basketball team to Fresno, Calif.Technician decided to send me to cover the NCAA Tournament and everything that goes on with the team. I’ve been covering this team for the past three years – so when this opportunity became a reality, I was extremely excited.

I’ve seen N.C. State go to the NCAA Tournament and lose in the first round the past two years. This season, with everything coach Kay Yow has been through and with this team reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001, it really has been rewarding writing about this team and watching the season unfold.

Throughout my four years at Technician, I’ve covered plenty of exciting events such as football and men’s basketball. But when I was on the six-hour flight from Raleigh to Fresno, Calif., I realized this was the biggest story I’ve covered – and probably will ever cover.

So as I sat down and thought about my first story, I envisioned all of the famous sports writers that I always read. I thought about their big stories and what their environment was like when they wrote it.

I laughed to myself because I think my environment isn’t quite as glamorous. As a student reporter, you don’t quite get the perks as the other, “bigger” media outlets.

My first story I wrote in my hotel room – a small one-room, two-bed closet with three roommates – members of the cheerleading squad. I struggled to find some sort of internet access and then when I was ready to send my story in, I had to fix my laptop.

But as I reflect on day one – bus ride to airport, six-hour flight, bus ride to hotel, check-in, interviews and writing a story, I couldn’t be more pleased. I’m excited to be in Fresno, Calif., (a small city which doesn’t represent the state at all) and covering this women’s basketball team.

- Nick Jeffreys, deputy sports editor

Posted in Women's NCAA Tournament | No Comments »