COLUMBIA - Christy McKinney holds her Blackberry in one hand and sorts through a cardboard box with the other. And while McKinney would love to unpack and settle in as Clemson's first new women's basketball coach since 1987, she knows when her phone rings with a call from a prospective recruit or high school coach, she had better answer.
"We don't have a lot of time to sit still," McKinney said.
McKinney, a soft-spoken native of Rockwell, N.C., was tapped to take over the Lady Tigers in April, replacing Jim Davis, who helped make the program an Atlantic Coast Conference power for most of two decades.
The past three seasons, though, the Lady Tigers have slipped noticeably. Davis agreed to an athletic administration job in March, and athletic director Terry Don Phillips sought out McKinney, who in 12 seasons turned Rice from also-rans into Western Athletic Conference champions. The Lady Owls made the NCAA Tournament last season for only the second time.
McKinney won't have time to build gradually in the powerful and expanded ACC.
"We have some pieces, I think, where we can make some strides," McKinney said.
She said she's respectful of what Davis did to become Clemson's winningest basketball coach with 355 victories. But "I think the players were ready for a change," she said.
McKinney will have a difficult task following Davis, a beloved coach among fans who always touted his love for Clemson.
She also will face long odds just to reverse a trend of South Carolina's best prep stars going outside the state. In recent years, North Carolina has snagged Ivory Latta and La'Tangela Atkinson, two of the most successful high school players in state history.
So McKinney cold-calls high school coaches to build relationships. She meets with prospects when she can. She wants to lock up South Carolina, then expand her recruiting base.
"We've got some things to sell here that I think players will be interested in," McKinney said.
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