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Jun. 29--Ten days ago in a gymnasium lobby, Nikki McCray talked about a rapidly descending reality: This was to be her last season as a professional basketball player.
Her storied career--two Olympic gold medals, an ABL MVP award, a 122-11 record at Tennessee--had been reduced to scattershot minutes and loads of losses with the Sky. And still she splashed a dim future with Technicolor optimism.
"Some days you have tough times," McCray said then. "But then you bounce back--'OK, let's enjoy this. This is fun stuff.'"
On Wednesday, the Sky announced that McCray, 34, had retired. But this was a writing-on-the-wall situation, with McCray averaging a career-low 7.8 minutes per game and not playing at all in Sunday's loss at Phoenix, the team's 13th straight.
"It's just unfortunate with the injuries to this team and the way we started this season, and now the team is 1-13 and you've got to start building for the future," McCray said in a telephone conversation on Wednesday. "I recognize that. A decision had to be made, and I support their decision and I have no regrets."
McCray hasn't practiced with the Sky this week. Former Indiana Fever guard Coretta Brown worked out with the team for the second straight day Wednesday.
Essentially, McCray might not have suited up Thursday against Charlotte either way, though she said it was never as "cut and dried" as a retire-or-be-cut proposition. The Sky offered McCray an administrative position that she hasn't decided whether to take.
Sky owner Michael Alter said McCray has been "great, very cooperative. Wanting to do what's best has been our collective approach."
An unimpeachable work ethic defined McCray's career. She joined the 1996 Olympic team out of Tennessee and became the unit's sixth man, determining that unrelenting effort was the means to stand out.
"It was like I had to be first in every sprint," McCray said. "When we would go on the road and everybody would want to go out, I was like, 'I want to go to sleep.'"
With the Sky, McCray goaded younger players into extra work and was a familiar name even to casual observers. McCray was the one player whom Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb recognized on a recent visit to Alter's offices, as the owner ran down the Sky roster.
"What people will remember about Nikki McCray is her passion for the game, her attitude on the court," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "I had to slow her down--she would go 100 miles per hour on the floor. But I can tell you, I'd rather have one like that than one you have to dial up every day."
Still, mentoring ability and a packed trophy case did not spare McCray from harsh reality. As Sky coach Dave Cowens said recently, "The only thing that matters is what she actually does."
McCray's next step is to become a college assistant this fall--she has unnamed destinations in mind--and a head coach in two years. "There's no bitterness whatsoever," McCray said. "I've had a great career. Most people would love to be in my position."
McCray by the numbers
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Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
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