May 20, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley announced that Lisa Boyer, Carla McGhee and Nikki McCray will join her staff as assistant coaches. Boyer was on Staley’s staff at Temple for the last six seasons, while McGhee coached with Staley in 2003-04 before moving to a similar position at Auburn for two seasons. McCray, who played with Staley on two of her gold medal-winning Olympic teams, joins the Gamecock staff after two seasons as an assistant at Western Kentucky.
In her six seasons at Temple, Boyer helped the Owls to six NCAA Tournament bids and four Atlantic 10 Tournament titles. Prior to a stint as an assistant with the WNBA’s Cleveland Rockers and as the head coach of the ABL’s Richmond/Philadelphia Rage, Boyer was the head coach at Bradley University for 10 seasons (1986-96). Her teams boasted a 100 percent graduation rate during her tenure, during which she also served as Bradley’s senior women’s administrator and compliance director from 1991 to 1996. Boyer has ties in South Carolina as her first head coaching position was at Converse College in Spartanburg for the 1982-83 season. A veteran coach, she has had assistant coaching positions at Virginia Tech, Miami, East Carolina and Davidson.
Boyer earned her bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College and has a master’s degree from UNC Greensboro.
“Lisa is a terrific coach – a head coach in her own right,” Staley said. “She is going to bring some great experience to our basketball team. I trust her with my life. In this business, you want to have someone with you that has your back, your front and your sides. Lisa does all that, and I would not coach this game without her on the bench with me.”
A teammate of Staley’s on the 1996 United States Olympic gold medal team, McGhee followed her playing career with her first coaching position on Staley’s staff at Temple in 2003-04. After the Owls went 21-10 with an Atlantic 10 Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament appearance, McGhee moved to Auburn for two seasons. McGhee left the college ranks to become the director of player personnel for the WNBA. She left that position in October 2007 to serve as an ambassador/consultant for the WNBA expansion team, the Atlanta Dream. A four-year letterwinner at Tennessee (1986-90), McGhee helped the Lady Vols to a pair of national championships (1987, 1989). After earning a bachelor’s degree in sport management in 1990, she extended her career playing in Germany, France, Turkey, South Korea, Spain, Italy and Greece before returning to the U.S. as part of the ABL’s Atlanta Glory in 1996. After three seasons, she joined the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle for four seasons.
“Carla is extremely energetic,” Staley said. “She is someone who players, and people of all ages, enjoy being around. She loves basketball, and she loves young people. I am fortunate to have someone like her on the staff.”
McCray got into coaching after a playing career that included three All-Star seasons in the WNBA and two All-America seasons at Tennessee. Additionally, she helped the United States to Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000. While on the bench for the Lady Toppers, McCray helped the team to a 49-17 record, including last year’s Sun Belt Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Playing for five teams in her nine WNBA seasons (1998-2006), she ended her career ranked 24th on the WNBA’s career scoring list with 2,528 points for an average of 10.1 ppg while shooting 41.3 percent from the field. A four-year letterwinner at Tennessee (1991-95), McCray played in four NCAA Tournaments, was twice the SEC Player of the Year and helped the Lady Vols compile a 122-11 record.
McCray earned her bachelor’s degree in sports marketing and education from Tennessee in 1995.
“Nikki brings wealth of energy and basketball knowledge to the bench,” Staley said. “She played at highest level in college and the Olympics and had a storied WNBA career. She will be a tremendous asset to our team.”
