A new era of Ole Miss women’s basketball has begun.
After announcing the hire last Wednesday, Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter and Athletics Director Ross Bjork introduced the ninth head coach and first female black coach in program history, Yolett McPhee-McCuin, on Friday.
She spoke to media and fans in her new arena, The Pavilion, and said she’s going to bring the work effort necessary to win a championship in Oxford.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin answers questions during a press conference about being introduced as the head coach of Ole Miss’ women’s basketball team. Photo by Logan Conner
McPhee-McCuin comes to Ole Miss by way of Jacksonville University, where she posted a .599 win percentage with a 94-63 record. She went 50-24 in conference games and led her team to postseason play in her final three seasons, including an NCAA Tournament berth in 2016. She began her career as an assistant at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Portland, Pittsburgh and Clemson before receiving the head coaching position at Jacksonville in 2013.
McPhee-McCuin quickly endeared herself to the fans, fellow coaches and players, beginning her introduction by leading the “Hotty Toddy” chant and giving some insight into not only the kind of coach she is but the kind of person she is.
In particular, McPhee-McCuin emphasized the principles she believes in most: All people matter and greatness is difficult. She also noted that her program will follow the “three T’s.”
“To build anything worth admiring, you need three things,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Time, talent and treasure. We will stay has long as it takes. We will impose skill, which shows under pressure. We will be thankful for the resources that we have – and the resources are here.”
Coach Yo, the moniker by which she is known, applauded The Pavilion, calling it “prime real estate,” in which to play and coach. She also emphasized how being a role model for younger girls, including her own daughters, is a key part of the position.
“To the little girls that are told they are not good enough, not smart enough,” she said with a big smile. “Today you can celebrate with Coach Yo.”
Discussing the daunting task of conducting coaching searches for both basketball programs at virtually the same time, Bjork said it created a template of characteristics that would define the next coach for the women’s program. McPhee-McCuin checked all the boxes.
“We had a list of characteristics that were very consistent,” Bjork said. “We found that those characteristics live in coach Yo. Proven winner, program identity, recruiting machine, player developer, disciplined, passionate and, above all, a leader.”
Yolett McPhee-McCuin is introduced as new head coach of the Ole Miss women’s basketball team by athletic director Ross Bjork during a press conference at the Pavilion on Friday. Photo by Logan Conner
McPhee-McCuin faces an uphill battle, tasked with resurrecting a team that finished at the bottom of the SEC – but her track record speaks for itself. Having climbed the coaching ladder, she knows that success will not be given as a handout but will come through hard work, proper preparation and the building of an identity for her team.
The bottom line is that, with the coach Yo era upon us, the Rebel fanbase should have high hopes for a program in need of a new direction.
