'We’re all a little classless at times': NC State women's coach Wes Moore not mad over UNC jabs
CHARLOTTE — Dust never settles on the UNC-NC State rivalry.
Tar Heels women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart’s offhand comment about the Wolfpack’s “small gym,” aka historic Reynolds Coliseum, turned into bulletin board material for NC State last season. And over the summer, Banghart called Pack fans “classless” while speaking on a podcast, again prompting outrage from the NC State faithful.
The players on those squads, however, seem to get along a bit better.
“We had a recruit in a few weeks ago and our players took ‘em over to (UNC guard) Deja Kelly’s birthday party,” Moore said Tuesday during the ACC Tipoff women’s basketball media day in Charlotte. “I’m thinking, whaaaaat? Courtney didn’t call me and invite me to her birthday party, doggone it. But, you know, the players handle it a lot better than the coaches do, right?”
NC State leads its all-time series against UNC 62-53 and rides a three-game win streak into this season, having won 11 of the last 15 matchups.
And while the Wolfpack has been dominant, winning three straight ACC Tournament championships, Banghart has rebuilt UNC into a contender.
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The Tar Heels played eventual champion South Carolina better than any other team the Gamecocks faced in the NCAA Tournament, and Kelly is a potential league player of the year, ranking third among returning players with a 16.5 ppg average.
NC State enters the post-Elissa Cunane era with its hopes pinned on ACC Sixth Player of the Year Diamond Johnson, Jada Boyd, Jakia Brown-Turner, Camille Hobby and a handful of high-profile transfers led by Wilmington Ashley alum Saniya Rivers, fresh off an NCAA championship with South Carolina.
Just in case the Wolfpack needs any extra motivation against the Tar Heels in this season’s games, scheduled for Jan. 15 in Chapel Hill and Feb. 16 in Raleigh, they can cue up Banghart’s now infamous words: “NC State fans are so classless, I just don’t even like going there. … I have more respect for Duke, but I like beating them because they’re more relevant. N.C. State is just mean to us and to each other.”
Even football players have gotten into the mix, with Heels quarterback Drake Maye claiming in a Sept. 21 press conference: “Whether you want to admit it or not, growing up in Carolina, you're gonna be a Carolina fan. Some people may say State, but really people who go to State just can't get into Carolina."
Maye apologized for his comments and Moore said Banghart sent him a note, “and that was very nice.”
But the Wolfpack coach is taking the jabs in stride.
“Well, you know, we’re all a little classless at times,” Moore said Tuesday. “We have fun, man. That’s why we wear red. Red’s fun, you know?
“It’s all about doing it on the court. We’ll have fun with it. Hey, it’s getting media attention, so that’s good. We’ll just keep playing in that little gym and keep packing it out and winning some games. It’s all good.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State women's basketball coach Wes Moore laughs off UNC jabs
