Reynolds wraps history around basketball in the South and the women’s game
PHOTO: Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus was the largest arena in the South until the 1960s.
Visit my homepage: TomShanahan.Report
Click here for review and purchase link: THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.
****
By TOM SHANAHAN
RALEIGH – Michigan State’s women basketball team visits a hallowed house this weekend in the NCAA women’s tournament. The Spartans won’t have time for lessons, but basketball and sociological history will be all about them.
Michigan State’s seventh-seeded team (21-9) faces No. 10 Harvard (24-4) at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus. The Spartans’ game will follow the 2 p.m. contest matching host NC State (26-6), the No. 2 seed, and No. 15 Vermont (21-12). The winners meet on Monday for the right to advance to the Spokane Regional
Reynolds brought to life big-time men’s basketball in the South in the 1950s under head coach Everett Case (1946-64). He imported Hoosier-style basketball with him from Indiana. His ACC title teams filled a 12,400-seat arena that was the largest in the South until the 1960s.
NC State women’s coach Kay Yow (1975-2009) built a powerhouse at Reynolds with the advent of Title IX legislation. Her teams were an early indication the women’s game’s future could include popular growth and sell tickets.
Although the men now play at the Levano Center – which is hosting the NCAA men’s tournament’s two opening rounds – and Reynolds was renovated in 2016 into a cozy 5,500-seat arena, it remains a venerated facility.
MORE OF MY NCAA COVERAGE RALEIGH
March 19: Reynolds wraps history around basketball in the South and the women’s game – Tom Shanahan Report
March 23: Michigan State’s women face 22-game homecourt winning streak and Final Four veterans – Tom Shanahan Report
March 23: Fralick building reputation with her game plans – Tom Shanahan Report
March 24: NC State’s hot hands end Michigan State’s season – Tom Shanahan Report
NC State’s women have won 21 straight games at home, including a triple-overtime victory on February 23 against then-No. 1-ranked Notre Dame. This is the Wolfpack’s second straight year hosting the opening two rounds of the NCAA and eighth straight season advancing to the NCAA under head coach Wes Moore. He was an assistant two seasons under Yow (1993-95) between head coach stints at Maryville, Francis Marion and Tennessee Chattanooga.
Case’s NC State legacy includes launching the Dixie Classic at Reynolds as one the premier holiday tournaments. The state of North Carolina’s four programs, NC State, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest, faced four invited teams from around the nation.
PHOTO: NC State women’s coach Kay Yow cuts down the nets as one of the women’s game’s early coaching giants.
Eventually, though, the Dixie Classic intersected with the Civil Rights movement. In 1958, Case invited Michigan State with All-American forward Johnny Green and Cincinnati with All-American guard Oscar Robertson. Previously, the tournament asked teams to leave their Black players at home.
The progressive move almost backfired on Case when the downtown Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel, which housed the teams, informed Case that the Black players representing Michigan State and Cincinnati weren’t welcome.
The story link below explains how Case turned to two members of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity to save the tournament. The story also is told in Chapter 4 of my book, “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-1966 Michigan State Spartans.”
Outside of Reynolds on the grounds are statues of Case and Yow. Inside Reynolds’ floor is named Kay Yow Court. Michigan State could learn something from NC State about honoring coaches. There also are statues of Norm Sloan, who led the Wolfpack to the 1974 NCAA title, and Jim Valvano, coach of the 1983 NCAA championship team.
Another statue is of basketball legend David Thompson, a member of the 1974 title team. Thompson is one of the few men on the planet who knew the feeling that Michigan State sophomore Coen Carr experiences when he soars above the rim.
Michigan State’s women’s coach Robyn Fralick has led the Spartans to the NCAA tournament her first two years. Last year, Michigan State, playing its first NCAA game since after missing the tournament the previous two seasons and three of four, lost to North Carolina at South Carolina’s homecourt.
The Spartans haven’t played since March 6 when they were upset by Iowa in their opening Big Ten tournament game. Fralick was asked about overcoming the layoff before her team left for Raleigh.
“We wanted to win the wait,” Fralick said. “Let’s be a team that gets a little bit better. We have time to get better. There isn’t time for overall change, so let’s get a little bit better. Let’s have a mentality around that.
“Practice has been fun. A lot of it has gone back to preseason practice with split teams. Make them compete. Our team got a little jolt from competing. It’s an honor to be playing again. It’s hard to make the tournament.”
-30-
Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter and frequent contributor to Spartanmag.com in addition to posting on his website. His new book on Michigan State leading college football integration is, “THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.” His first book was “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans.”
I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055
Below are links to click on to purchase my books focused.
My books tell the true story of college football integration in the 1960s and address the myths and fiction that allowed a false narrative surrounding the 1970 USC-Alabama game to usurp the credit from the true pioneers. As I said when I spoke at the National Sports Media Association book festival, no two books provide an accurate portrayal more than RAYE OF LIGHT and THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
I’ll put my facts up against anybody, anytime, anywhere. Watch here.
Click here for my story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and Segregation awarded first place by the Football Writers Association of America. I tell untold stories on Michigan State’s leading role and the true pioneers of college football integration. Click here to read the summary as a first-place story.
***
Click here to purchase The Right Thing To Do
THE RIGHT THING TO DO
The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s
Foreword by Ruffin McNeill
***
Click here to purchase Raye of Light.
RAYE OF LIGHT
Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the 1ntegration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans
Foreword by Tony Dungy
***
Click here to purchase my children’s book, Bubba’s Dad, Duffy and College Football’s Underground Railroad
The book for now is only a Kindle version on Amazon. Print and audio platforms available soon.
