We thought we could keep her for four years. Or hoped, at least.
Nikki McCray is gone after three. No one should be surprised.
McCray will be the next coach at Mississippi State, a Final Four team in 2017 and 2018. The news broke Wednesday night with the Bulldogs also reportedly looking at Louisville’s Jeff Walz.
Lucky, lucky Starkville. McCray showed all the trimmings of an elite coach from day one in Norfolk.
On Sunday, Bulldogs athletic director John Cohen said, “We are looking for a relentless recruiter, someone who understands our deep meaning of family, someone who understands the Mississippi State culture and a hungry competitor with an elite work ethic. We want someone who knows the game inside and out and has an innovative skill set.”
They found her.
McCray’s attention to detail impressed us from that first open practice. She seemed in such command and players bought in. Pre-game, when most coaches wait in the locker room, McCray ran intense drills and barked instructions. That first group of players didn’t have much to give but gave all they got. What would it be like when she brought in a few of her own recruits, we wondered, and we found out quickly,
ODU went from winning eight games her first season to earning a WNIT bid with a 22-11 mark her second. This past year the (Lady) Monarchs were poised for an NCAA tournament berth at 24-6, which would have been their first since 2008. McCray was named C-USA Coach of the Year and was named one of 10 finalists for WBCA national coach of the year. She was the only finalist from a non-Power 5 program.
Just as important to McCray was bridging the gap between what we call Old and New Dominion. The fan base that supported Wendy Larry, who won 17 CAA titles at her alma mater, has never returned, but McCray made strides in narrowing the wedge. The hashtag of last season? #RootedTogether. She returned Wendy to the fold and Ticha’s been in the mix, too. Both spoke at the tipoff dinner to kick off the 2019-20 season. Attendance was hurting, but who knows what might have happened had COVID-19 not brought the season to a halt.
Barring a rash of transfers — possible if you’ve checked the portal lately — McCray leaves the program in terrific shape. The graduated Taylor Edwards will be missed, but ODU returns three all-CUSA selection in Ajah Wayne, Amari Young and Aziah Hudson (sixth player of the year). The (Lady) Monarchs will be picked to win CUSA next season.
Somehow we always knew McCray belonged on a big stage in a major conference playing in front of a packed house. No apologies for what ODU is or has been, but the SEC is home for McCray. She played under Pat Summitt at Tennessee and coached alongside Dawn Staley at South Carolina. She’s going to thrive because that’s what she does.
Good luck, Coach. We expect to see you holding up that national championship trophy before long.