Local basketball icons Ann Ash Zelesky and Bob Cousy to be honored at Worcester State University graduation
WORCESTER — In her lifetime, Ann Ash Zelesky has made her mark on Central Mass. athletics as an athlete, coach, administrator, and especially as a mentor to young people, including her two sons and her precious granddaughter. She has proudly, but humbly, represented her hometown of Worcester and her college alma mater, Worcester State, with grace and dignity.
Earlier this year, 12 of Zelesky’s friends, colleagues, former players and admirers wrote letters to Worcester State’s Speakers and Awards Committee recommending her for an honorary degree at this year’s commencement.
In February, Worcester State president Barry Maloney called Zelesky to tell her the great, deserved, and, to Zelesky, completely surprising news, that WSU will present her with a Doctor of Humane Letters during Saturday’s graduation ceremony at the DCU Center.
“I am so thankful to President Maloney and Worcester State for this incredible honor,” Zelesky said Tuesday. “Worcester State has always held a special place in my life.”
Worcester State will also bestow the honorary degree to Holy Cross and Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy, whose love affair with the city of Worcester has endured since he stepped off the train from New York at Union Station on a rainy Saturday in 1946 as a HC freshman.
“I appreciate the acknowledgement,” Cousy said. “The fact that it’s ‘Worcester’ State University, any acknowledgement that couples me with the city, I’m very pleased with.”
The 94-year-old Cousy, who has also received honorary degrees from Springfield College, Holy Cross, Becker and Boston College, will not attend Saturday’s commencement, but Maloney and Worcester State Board of Trustees chair David Tuttle recently visited Cousy at his West Side home to present him with his latest honor.
WSU will show a video of the presentation and a 3-minute speech from Cousy at the graduation.
Since 2021, a 7-foot, 7,000-pound bronze statue of Cousy has stood outside the DCU Center.
“It was kind of cute,” Cousy said with a laugh. “(In the speech) I said, ‘I’m the guy that greeted you on the way in. It’s not always you greet a statue on your way into a building and then have the statue address you. I hope this will provide all of you with cocktail party conversation for the next 40 years.’”
Worcester State gave Cousy a plaque, he said, to commemorate the honor, and his daughter Marie, who was visiting from Seattle, hung it for him.
Beyond his basketball accomplishments, which included the 1947 NCAA Championship with Holy Cross and six NBA titles with the Celtics, Cousy’s humanitarian efforts have included civil rights, social justice and a more than 70-year affiliation with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.
Calling Worcester home for seven-plus decades has also been a deep source of pride for Cousy.
“At this point in my life,” Cousy, who took a break from reading Dennis Lehane’s latest novel for a Tuesday afternoon chat, said, “I blank out the negative crap and I focus on the positive. More and more, I find myself thinking about the whole experience. I’m the luckiest S.O.B. So many things fell together and got in place for me.”
Zelesky’s honorary degree comes on the 50th anniversary of her graduation from Worcester State.
After starring in sports at Marian High, Zelesky, who grew up in Worcester’s Burncoat Street neighborhood, excelled in basketball, softball, field hockey and volleyball at Worcester State, where she was a forerunner of Title IX and future member of the school’s hall of fame.
Zelesky’s Lancer basketball coach, Donna (Hebert) Devlin, inspired her during her collegiate playing days and in her career path in athletics. Devlin will be among Zelesky’s cheering section at the DCU Center Saturday.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from Worcester State in 1973, Zelesky began her coaching career there, and in 1976 embarked on her legendary years at St. Peter-Marian, where she guided two powerhouse programs, girls’ basketball and softball, to a combined six state championships. She remains a role model to many of her former players.
In 1989, Holy Cross hired Zelesky to take a role at the forefront of its growing athletics program, and for 26 years, she served as an associate athletic director at HC, where she continued to mentor young people, and serve as Team Impact and HC Goes Unified advisor.
Following her retirement from Holy Cross, Zelesky worked for the 15-40 Connection (now DetecTogether), and shared her courageous breast cancer survival story and spread the organization’s message, advocating for early cancer detection.
“I am forever grateful,” Zelesky said, “to the many teachers, administrators and coaches, as well as family and friends who supported me during my years at Worcester State, and throughout my journey preparing me for life’s challenges and opportunities.”
Zelesky remains a devoted supporter of Worcester State and its athletic teams, and a member of the WSU hall of fame committee.
“Ann is a great ambassador for Worcester State,” WSU associate athletic director and women’s basketball coach Karen Tessmer said. “It’s appropriate she’s getting an honorary degree as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX. She has lived it, and paved the way for so many future women athletes. She is an influencer and an advocate for the growth of women’s sports at all levels. We’re proud that she’s a Worcester State alum and believes in public higher education.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Local basketball icons Zelesky, Cousy to be honored at WSU graduation
