Along with its numerous student-athletes who have earned scholarships, N.C. State has a large conglomerate of athletes who have walked onto each of the Wolfpack’s 19 varsity teams. The Technician had the chance to speak with the women’s basketball team’s only returning walk-on from last season: sophomore guard Kaley Moser.
The 5-foot-11 Burlington native joined the team in the fall of 2012 after lettering four years at Williams High School and has been a key component off the bench for State ever since. She raised about $12,000 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund in her senior season at Williams and helped boost her team to the 2012 3A state championship.
Moser played in seven games last season and has played eight minutes her three games with the Pack this season. She scored a career-high six points against Presbyterian on Nov. 16.
Technician: What made you decide to pick N.C. State instead of another university in the state?
Moser: “I chose N.C. State because I really liked its engineering program, and I grew up a huge Wolfpack fan. It was an obvious decision for me.”
Q: Despite not earning a scholarship to play for the Pack, what drove you to join the team as a walk-on?
A: “I loved basketball growing up, and I loved Kay Yow. She is one of my role models, and it was a dream when I was a little girl to play on the team. There was an open tryout for the team my freshman year, so I said, ‘Why not?’”
Q: You’ve been through an entire season with former head coach Kellie Harper, and you’ve played three games with head coach Wes Moore at the helm. What differences have you noticed between their coaching styles?
A: “With Coach Harper, it was different than in high school. It was tough assimilating to college life at first. Coach Moore and Coach Harper used to work together, and some of their styles are similar in the basketball sense, but they both have different personalities. They are both great coaches, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to play under both of them.”
Q: You had the highest scoring game of your career against the Blue Hose on Nov. 16. How did it feel scoring those two three-pointers with the energetic crowd supporting you?
A: “It was really exciting. I stay after practice everyday and work on my three-point shooting and work on everything else. It was exciting that some hard work paid off, but I have got a lot more hard work to do to make that happen again.”
Q: Two players on the men’s basketball team, junior guard Staats Battle and sophomore guard Chase Cannon have been promoting the “walk-on life” with their “Battle Cannon” series. What does the “walk-on life” mean to you, and do you feel like it sets you apart from the scholar athletes?
A: “I think the ‘walk-on life’ isn’t like it is for the men’s team because I still feel like I’m part of the same team. We all still do everything together. Even though I am the walk-on, they still treat me just like another player. It’s fun, and it’s different. Ultimately, I still feel like part of the team just like everybody else, and I think that speaks about how connected my teammates and I are.”
