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Cristy McKinney enters the third year of her rebuilding project as the head women's basketball coach at Clemson University and her 14th overall season as a head coach, returning to the Carolinas following a 12-year stint at Rice University. The Lady Tigers have made great strides in just two years under McKinney's guidance and are looking for a return to post-season play in 2007-08.
McKinney admitted that there is more work to be done, but she has made progress in just two years in Tigertown. She and her coaching staff have been persistent and diligent on the recruiting trail. Although they arrived late for the 2006 class, McKinney signed South Carolina's AAAA State
Player-of-the-Year Lele Hardy and also gained a commitment from first-team All-Georgia selection Morganne Campbell. They then inked a top-25 rated class in 2007, signing five players who the staff anticipates will contribute immediately. Whitney Hood, Bryelle Smith, Jasmine Tate, Sthefany Thomas and Kirstyn Wright make up a diverse class and will complement McKinney's core veterans.
"I am excited about the future of Lady Tiger basketball," McKinney exclaimed. "I feel like the players in the program are developing in a way that I want them to develop, and we just see good things happening on a day-to-day basis with this program."
"I want to win and I want to win big. With the resources and support we have for this program, I feel we are going to have a successful program."
In the second year of McKinney's reign, Clemson won more games than in each of the previous two, while placing two players on the ACC All-Freshman team. The Lady Tigers doubled their conference win total from the last two seasons and won their first ACC road game in nearly three years when they defeated Wake Forest, 73-57, in Winston-Salem, NC to open league play. Clemson ended the season with a 4-10 conference record and a 12-18 overall ledger.
McKinney guided Hardy to one of the most successful rookie campaigns in program history, as she set numerous Clemson freshman records. Hardy recorded 98 steals for the year, the most for a Lady Tiger freshman and fourth-best in ACC freshman history behind an impressive group of league legends. She became the third Clemson player in history and the first since 1989 to post an ACC-best for steals per game, while also becoming the first Lady Tiger to lead the conference in any category since 2001. Her 3.3 average was also listed fifth in the nation, the highest national rank for the category in Clemson history and the highest finish since the 1992-93 season.
Red-shirt freshman Christy Brown joined Hardy as an all-rookie selection, marking the first time in school history that two players earned the honor in the same season.
With McKinney's coaching, junior Tasha Taylor made a successful transition to the shooting guard position, as she significantly improved both her three-point shooting numbers and field goal percentage. Classmate D'Lesha Lloyd then broke onto the scene in her second season under McKinney's tutelage, achieving better marks in just about every statistical category.
The team set another top-five mark for three-point field goals made with 147, while the Lady Tigers' performance in their final regular season game also made the Clemson annuals. They hit 9-of-14 three-pointers to tie for third-most in a single game and rank fourth in school history with a .643 percentage for the contest.
In a transition year to McKinney's coaching system, the 2005-06 Lady Tigers struggled at times but also saw moments of success. Clemson ended the season with an 8-21 record and went 2-12 in a league that included three teams that reached the NCAA Final Four, along with the eventual national champions.
The Lady Tigers set two single game school records during McKinney's first season. The team posted 16 blocked shots against Furman to first etch its name in the record books, bettering the previous mark by two. Clemson then converted 20-21 free throws in its Jan. 16 contest against Wake Forest for a program-best .952 percentage.
The Lady Tigers were also ranked in the top 20 nationally in two statistical categories last year, and Clemson point guard Tasha Taylor also finished in the top 20 individually. Taylor thrived in McKinney's up-tempo style of play that allowed her to push the ball and create scoring opportunities in transition; she handed out 5.59 assists per game to rank 18th in the nation for the figure.
Taylor's figures also helped the Lady Tigers to a 16.62 team assist average which ranked 19th in the nation. On the defensive end of the court, McKinney led her team to a #18 national ranking for blocks per game with a 5.1 average. The season marked the first time in school history that Clemson had achieved top-20 rankings in either of the statistical categories, and Taylor's ranking was the highest a Lady Tiger had attained individually for assists per game.
The Clemson program is not McKinney's first experience in building a program from the ground up. In the 11 seasons prior to McKinney's arrival in Houston, the Lady Owl program experienced just two winning seasons. After her arrival, Rice had a record of .500 or better in 10 of 12 seasons.
McKinney brought 12 years of Division I head coaching experience, all of which came at Rice. She compiled a record of 216-139 while in charge of the Lady Owl program. She is Rice's all-time winningest coach with the 216 victories. She guided Rice to consecutive winning seasons each of the last nine years, including six seasons of 20 wins or more. Her teams averaged 20.4 wins per season over the last eight years. In 12 years prior to McKinney's tenure at the school, Rice had a record of 133-190. Thus, she was responsible for 83 more wins during her time in Houston.
In McKinney's final season with the Lady Owls, Rice had a 24-9 overall record, won the WAC Tournament crown, and shared the WAC regular season title with Louisiana Tech after recording a 14-4 conference mark. McKinney was subsequently named WAC Coach of the Year. An 86-66 victory over Louisiana Tech in the conference tournament final sent Rice to its second ever NCAA Tournament appearance, with both occurring under McKinney's watch. The 2004-05 season also included a 12-game winning streak, which tied a school record.
In 2003-04, McKinney led Rice to the finals of the WAC Tournament and a 22-10 overall ledger. The Lady Owls advanced to the second round of the WNIT and finished first in the nation with 7.0 blocks per game, setting a school record with 224 total.
McKinney's 2001-02 squad went 21-9, including a landmark victory over sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech. It remains the highest ranked opponent Rice has defeated in its history. The Lady Owls went 14-4 in the WAC and were selected to the WNIT for the third time in school history.
The 1999-2000 season featured many firsts for McKinney and the Rice program. She guided the team to a 22-10 record and its first WAC Tournament title. The Lady Owls defeated SMU in the championship game to earn the program's first ever NCAA Tournament berth. From there, McKinney and the Lady Owls pulled off a 67-64 upset over #4 seed UC Santa Barbara.
McKinney coached WAC Tournament MVP Marla Brumfield to Kodak All-America honorable mention and Kirra Jordan to the All-Tournament team. Both players went on to be drafted by the WNBA, a first for the Rice program. Brumfield was the 22nd pick of the draft by the Minnesota Lynx, while Jordan was selected 41st by the Seattle Storm.
Rice finished the 1998-99 season with a 20-12 mark and an appearance in the WNIT. McKinney's squad played host to the school's first ever postseason basketball game, a 65-58 victory over Miami (FL). The Lady Owls then defeated Baylor to advance to the WNIT quarterfinals.
In her fifth season at Rice, McKinney guided the 1997-98 Lady Owls to a 21-9 record, the first ever 20-win season in school history. The Lady Owls were 11-3 and finished tied for second in the WAC standings. Rice was rewarded with its first ever postseason advancement, as the Lady Owls earned a berth in the WNIT.
During her tenure at Rice, McKinney coached seven different players to all-conference honors a total of 12 times. Included in the list are five first-team selections. Brumfield was a four-time All-WAC selection, twice earning first-team honors. In the 2005-06 season, McKinney coached Lauren Neaves and MichelleWoods to second-team All-WAC status. Neaves earned WAC Tournament MVP honors at the 2005 tournament after leading the squad to its second NCAA appearance.
McKinney put together an outstanding run against WAC competition, compiling a 103-40 career record versus conference opponents. That equates to a 72 percent winning ledger.
In addition to her outstanding accomplishments on the court, McKinney stresses success off it to her student-athletes. During her 12-year tenure at Rice, 100 percent of her four-year players have graduated.
No stranger to hard work, McKinney spent her final eight seasons at Rice in the dual role of head women's basketball coach and associate athletic director/senior women's administrator. In addition to her head coaching duties, she supervised the women's swimming, volleyball, and track and field programs.
McKinney served two years as head coach at NAIA school Montevallo (1984-85 and 1985-86), where she helped the Lady Eagles to a seven-win improvement and earned District Coach of the Year honors her second season.
McKinney made a name for herself among the coaching ranks as an assistant at Western Kentucky for nine seasons. She helped the Lady Hilltoppers to a 43-18 record during the 1982-84 seasons, before leaving for Montevallo. She then returned to serve as an assistant from 1986-93. During that seven-year span, McKinney helped Western Kentucky to a 169-47 record, seven NCAA appearances, and three straight "Sweet 16" appearances, and a Final Four appearance in 1992.
McKinney earned four letters as an accomplished forward for the N.C. State Wolfpack from 1976-79. Playing under current head coach Kay Yow, she scored 1,359 career points and pulled down over 600 rebounds. She shot 78.3 percent from the free throw line during her playing career. McKinney was a member of N.C. State's first ACC regular season championship team. She still holds the freshman record for free throws made (135) and scoring average (17.5 points per game).
She earned a B.S. degree in math education in 1979 from N.C. State. She then earned a M.A. degree in physical education while working as a graduate assistant at Western Carolina.
Formerly Cristy Earnhardt, she is married to Robert McKinney. The couple has been married 21 years.
