ISU women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly usually spends his offseason recruiting and preparing for what his next campaign will hold.

This season, Fennelly had an entirely different challenge to overcome.

“I never got my voice back at the end of the year,” Fennelly said. “Like most coaches you lose it but I never got it back.”

Fennelly went to the doctor, where they discovered a growth on the left side of his throat. Doctors discovered that it was cancerous and the coach went under the knife to fix the problem.

Doctors used a laser to remove a nodule on the vocal chord. Fennelly will have regular check-ups for about five years – precautions to make sure the condition does not return.

“I’ve been really lucky,” Fennelly said. “When you hear the c-word, you get scared and I was a little scared, no question.

“The thoughts and prayers of so many people, it was humbling. You know that a lot of people care about you, but you find another level of that. I’m not home 10 minutes from the hospital and [ISU football coach] Dan McCarney’s at my house. Things like that mean a lot to you and your family.”

The procedure and recovery hasn’t hampered Fennelly’s sense of humor, and that attitude is what has helped everyone involved get through.

“[The team] probably wish it would have happened in November,” Fennelly cracked. “I had to go through two times of two weeks not talking. They would have rather had that. Talking is a big part of my job and I have to be smart about that.”

Both the coach and players agreed that Fennelly’s athletes were more concerned then their coach.

“Despite his red face and jacket-throwing nature on the court he’s very composed off the court,” junior guard Lyndsey Medders said. “We were more nervous about everything then he was.

“His calmness about it all helped us. We visited him after both surgeries and we’re going to try to not give him so much to yell about this season.”

To help reduce the stress on his voice, the university bought a microphone system for the coach. There is also a microphone for him to use at home.

“I think he’ll get in trouble if he doesn’t start using that microphone system at home,” Medders said. “So Coach Fennelly, if you’re listening, it’s time to turn that microphone back on or he’s going to get in trouble back home.”

The experience has brought players and their coach closer, realizing how special their time together is.

“It made us appreciate who we have as a head coach,” Medders said.

“In my opinion he does his job better then anyone in the country. He’s turned me into a better person in the two years I’ve been here and to say that about my college coach is something I hold onto very seriously.”

It also gave the coach a chance to show his team how he felt.

“We’ve all seen people in our lives have some illness and some struggles,” Fennelly said. “The fear of the unknown scares people. They know how much I care about them and they care about me.”