25th Anniversary ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Page
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by Debbie Antonelli
ACC Women's Basketball Television Analyst
In continuing with our theme to bring back an oldie. . . I would like to reintroduce Wolfpack great, Genia Beasley. The former NC State center is now an optometrist and runs her own practice in Charlotte called "All Ages Vision Care."
Beasley was recruited in the mid 70s by High Point, Peace College and NC State. This was during the initial stages of the passing of Title IX so there were not a lot of schools that could offer Genia the full ride that Kay Yow could.
Beasley grew up in "suburban" Benson, NC on a farm with chickens and horses. Her dad sold cars locally and her mom was a neo-natal nurse at the local hospital. Picture this . . . basketball goal in the driveway made up on two telephone poles and a piece of ply wood for a backboard.
Beasley's dad was the architect and she was the painter. Beasley painted the square on the goal green in honor of her South Johnston High School colors with a "Go Trojans" painted on the bottom of the backboard.
In High School, Beasley was a gym-rat. The boys' coach would have to run her out of the gym after the girls got done so his team could practice and he always made mention to his boys to pay attention to her work ethic. "Basketball was never work for me. I always had fun," claimed Beasley.
Even when she played for the Nebraska Wranglers of the WBL, it was for the love of the game.
"We got paid in January of that month but never got paid for February. We won the championship that season over the Dallas Diamonds and Nancy Lieberman. There were no trophies or rings. We were presented a certificate but had memories to last a lifetime."
If Genia Beasley was playing today, she would be drafted as a WNBA player. I remember watching Beasley play at NC State and she was the first 6'2 player that could shoot with range that I had ever seen. Beasley is NC State's all time leading scorer with 2,367 points and the school's career leader in rebounds with 1,245. She holds numerous other records including eight blocks in a single game, most blocks in a season with 73 and is the all-time shot blocker in NC State history with 185. Beasley had 60 double doubles to her credit.
Beasley says playing for Kay Yow was inspirational.
"She always tried to build us as people, not just basketball players and instilled teamwork first."
I asked Beasley about the players that have left the NC State program this year and she was quick to respond in Kay Yew's defense. "Kids today are used to having it all given to them through the recruiting process and Abacus. Kids want instant gratification. We were happy to get shoes to play with. Sometimes they don't realize how good they've got it. When I was in the pros, we had to pay for our own shoes and socks."
The 1980 ACC Tournament was a memorable one for Beasley. She and her NC State teammates gave Kay Yow her first ACC Tournament title beating Maryland in the championship game. Beasley was honored as the most valuable player of that tournament.
Beasley says her best memory was cutting down the nets and getting to keep one of the nets because she was the MVP. On the bus ride back to Raleigh from College Park, MD, she cut a piece of the net and gave it to everyone on the team.
I asked Beasley if she was surprised her records at NC State have stood the test of time and she admitted that all those numbers came about because of how much she loved the game and how playing basketball never seemed like work. "I accomplished the records because I was competitive and I had a passion for the game."
Beasley was an assistant coach for five years at South Florida and then one day decided to take the Myers-Briggs Personality Test to find other potential career paths. The answers to the questions led her to become interested in becoming an Optometrist. She visited with the team doctors for the South Florida Athletics Department and decided optometry was for her.
Beasley attended two years of classes at South Florida in preparation for attending Nova Southeastern University in Florida. When it was all done, Beasley had gone for another six years of college classes, six years without a pay check and followed her dream to work with the visual needs of children. Today, she treats kids with visual problems with non-surgical therapy. She described it as "physical therapy for the eyes."
This NC State Kodak All American, Genia Beasley has gone on to use basketball as a tool for her everyday life choices. She was one of the all time greats at NC State. She was a player and played the game differently with her size at that time.
