N.C. State’s newest addition to its athletic program, Kellie Harper, is aware that the red blazer she will don will be heavy with expectations. She met with her players minutes before her first press conference at N.C. State Thursday”It’s a process — I’m going to be taking new things in, trying to understand her style and techniques,” freshman Bonae Holston said.Harper comes to State after coaching Western Carolina’s women’s basketball team for five seasons. She compiled a 97-65 overall record and led the Lady Catamounts to the Southern Conference tournament championships twice during her tenure, most recently this season.”We felt like we needed to hire a good coach and a head coach that has been successful. And we’ve found that coach,” Athletic Director Lee Fowler said.Harper has a head coaching background with a smaller basketball program. But like State’s men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe, she built up an impressive resume as a player before moving to the bench. Harper played under legendary University of Tennesee women’s basketball coach Pat Summit, who has nothing but positive things to say about Harper’s tenure with the Sooners a decade later.”She’s the smartest, most consistent point guard I’ve ever coached,” Summit said.Harper was Summit’s starting point guard for her last three years at Tennesee and helped the Lady Vols to three national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. During her senior yera, she was an All-American honorable mention and a second-team All-SEC selection.Harper has experience with the N.C. State organization in that her Lady Vols beat the Pack, coached by Kay Yow, in 1998 – Harper’s junior year.”We want to consistently win and compete for championships,” Harper said. “We want to beat our neighbors that wear various shades of blue.”As for who will join Harper along the sidelines at Reynolds Colesium, it is probably Harper’s husband, Jon Harper, who will be there to instruct as well. According to Kellie, Jon has served as an assistant coach alongside his wife for five years.Everyone present at Harper’s introductory press conference Thursday paid homage to Kay Yow, Harper’s predecessor, and insisted they would carry on in her traidtion.”I have tremendous respect for Kay Yow, Coach Glance and her staff,” Harper said. “We want this program to continue to something she [Yow] would be proud of.”She went on to say that while she and her staff respect the house Yow built, they will not merely reflect on years past. As Harper said, the team will move on and “pull the personal aspect out it.””Kay Yow is and will always be a legend,” Harper said. “You obviously know that when you step foot on this campus. I respect what she has meant to this university, to this program. I can’t be her. I wish I could, but I have to be me. And that’s, in my opinion, the best way that I can honor her.”Harper’s new players spoke thankfully of Stephanie Glance, the interim head coach who led the team efficiently during a time of uncertaincy and sadness following Yow’s death.”I would like to thank N.C. State University for affording me the chance to be a part of such a fine institution for the last 15 years,” Glance said in an official statement. “I am saddened today that I will not have the opportunity to be the next head coach for the women’s basketball program. I would like to especially thank the fans, former players, and coaches from around the country who have sent letters, emails, and made phone calls on my behalf. Thank you sincerely for your  support! I am most grateful for the lessons learned from the legendary Coach Kay Yow! These will stay with me for a lifetime! I wish her successor the best.”Holston said she and her teammates would adjust well to the coaching change.”Coach Glance was there on our recruiting visits and got to know us and coach us,” Holston said. “With everything that’s gone on, we definitely became emotionally attached to her. But at the same time, I’m excited to welcome our new coach, get to work and see where she takes us.”Sophomore Tia Bell summed up the past several months with a few well-chosen words and a promise for the future.”Sport is a business. I’m just pleased with the closure,” Bell said. “There’s been grieving and uncertainty. But at the same time, we’re going to build on that and succeed.”As for who will replace Harper at Western Carolina, Harper offered a concept that will sound familiar to followers of the N.C. State coaching search.”I will not have a say in who replaces me, but I think my opinion is valuable,” Harper said.