North Carolina State hired former Chattanooga head man Wes Moore as head coach on April 5. Moore replaces Kellie Moore, who was fired on March 26.
Moore guided Chattanooga to the NCAA tournament nine times in 15 seasons with the Lady Mocs, including this past season. The 2012-13 Lady Mocs tied a school record with 29 wins on the way to the Southern Conference regular season and tournament title before losing to Nebraska in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 55-year old Moore led the Lady Mocs to 12 Southern Conference regular season crowns and nine tournament titles. He has 558 career wins in 24 seasons as a head coach, which includes stops at Division II Francis Marion and Division III Maryville College. Moore led Francis Marion and Maryville to the NCAA Tournament.
That would make him the only coach to take schools to the NCAA tournament at all three levels, according to his bio at Chattanooga.
This will be Moore’s second stint in Raleigh as he was an assistance under the late Kay Yow’s Wolfpack teams from 1993-1995. He was a finalist for the North Carolina State job in 2009, that ultimately went to Harper.
In a phone interview, Moore said the opportunity to return to Raleigh was too good to pass up along with family considerations – his wife’s family is from the eastern half of the state.
”It’s going to be a great challenge but I’m excited about it,” Moore said. ”I think [athletic director] Debbie Yow’s got a proven track record for having great success with athletic departments across the board, so I’m excited about having the opportunity to work with her and see what we can get done.”
Moore will have some rebuilding to do as North Carolina State has only reached the NCAA Tournament just once in the past six years. The Wolfpack went 17-17 in 2012-13 and advanced to the second round of the WNIT before losing to James Madison72-66.
Harper went 50-50 in her three seasons at North Carolina State, including 16-32 in ACC play.
Other notes:
- Moore is the fourth coach in North Carolina State history.
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