Wednesday morning, Florida made official the hiring of [autotag]Korey McCray[/autotag] as the associate head coach of the Gators’ men’s basketball team. McCray spent the previous seven seasons with Mississippi State, a monolithic run in terms of coaching monogamy. He brings nearly a decade of SEC coaching experience to the team, which is something head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] and assistant coach [autotag]Kevin Hovde[/autotag] are sorely lacking.
As an associate head coach, McCray will be Golden’s right hand, a fitting role for the veteran leader. He carries a reputation as a strong recruiter and you’ll see him praised for his hand in UCLA’s trio of 2012 five-star recruits. As Florida Basketball Hour was quick to point out, he is also an asset in the gym.
“One thing I really love about McCray is that he worked with NBA players as a skill development coach before he got into coaching at the Division 1 level,” said the FBH host. “I’ve said in this podcast before that I think the role of coaching is overrated in college basketball when it comes to player development… but he worked with NBA players who have millions of dollars on the line whether they can shoot 33% from three or 35% from three. For a wing in the NBA, that could mean $12 million over three years. These NBA players do not mess around with who they want to work with.”
From a basketball ops perspective, McCray will likely be one of the most traditionalist voices in the room. He will be joining a heavily analytics-influenced group of coaches, but his grassroots as a powerhouse AAU coach as well as a student of Leonard Hamilton and Ben Howland lend themselves in the other direction.
That’s not a bad thing — few are the coaches who have more experience to glean from. It also would seem to indicate that Golden is willing to give his ear to those with different approaches than his, demonstrating the flexibility and modesty that is needed for a relatively new head coach. Interfacing smoothly between the two styles of basketball will be essential, though, especially in player evaluation and skill valuation.
From a bird’s eye view, McCray’s willingness to abandon ship at Mississippi State for Florida is meaningful. MSU has a strong program that always seems to be just on the verge of a breakout. That McCray sees an opportunity in Florida basketball that he didn’t have with the Bulldogs should be an encouraging sign for Gators hoops enthusiasts.
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