February 18, 2009

     As much of the women’s basketball world joins the fight against cancer nationwide by participating in “Think Pink” events this week, many followers of the sport think of Kay Yow, the legendary N.C. State coach who recently lost her battle with the disease. Yow had the support of this area through her recruitment of Sharnise Beal of New Britain.
     But when Central Connecticut’s women’s team hosts St. Francis (NY) on Saturday (4 p.m. Detrick Gym), the Blue Devils will be thinking about someone closer to home. Chris Ryba’s name is well-known in New Britain. His daughters’ names are all over the New Britain High School record book. The bond is deeper than that however, as the Ryba family is forever linked to the coach of those NBHS teams.
     The Ryba family helped Beryl Piper become a legendary coach in Connecticut’s high school circles. And in some ways it helped Piper reach the CCSU bench by helping her evolve as a CCSU student and star basketball player.
     “Linda (Chris’s wife) was good friends with my sister,” Piper said. “When I came in as a freshman Chris helped me through some tough times, so there’s a little bit more there. And of course the relationship continued with the kids playing for me.”
     To keep the connection going, however, Chris Ryba must beat a foe much tougher than the SFNY Terriers: Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, a rare and currently incurable type of lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
     There’s no cure, but there are treatment options. To try and help make them possible, CCSU will have a table set up Saturday to collect donations for Ryba. The Blue Devils will also honor former coach Dr. Brenda Reilly, who passed away from cancer, for the second-straight year.
     For Piper, being able to help a dear friend and honor a mentor will make Saturday about much more than wearing a color to support a noble but generic cause. This time it will hit home.
     “Think Pink Day is important for me and for Central,” Piper said. “It’s usually for breast cancer, but to honor people close to the program, being in a position to do that is special.”
     By the time Saturday comes, CCSU could be in position to lock up second place in the Northeast Conference. The world won’t be in position to lock up a cure for cancer by the end of “Think Pink” week, but the Blue Devils are hoping to help one person who has helped their coach get to point where she can arrange such events.
     The cure for cancer will come slower than Piper has cured CCSU’s basketball woes, but it will come. Thinking pink can inspire us to think big.