[Sly Fox]

Yet another reason why I believe we are blessed to have Ritchie leading our team ...

The Bible is His Playbook

Ritchie McKay seems to have found a home at Liberty. Some would say the Lynchburg, Va., school, founded in 1971 by the late Jerry Falwell as an independent fundamentalist Baptist university, is the ideal place for McKay, an outspoken Christian whose statements to the media five years ago led the ACLU to question his coaching methods at New Mexico, his previous coaching job.

Grateful to be at a place where he can freely express his beliefs, McKay, 43, seemingly has put his New Mexico days behind him and thrived at Liberty. In just his second year, the Flames (21-10, 12-6 Big South Conference) are enjoying their first winning season in five years, despite having the fourth-youngest roster in Division I. Led by Seth Curry, the highest scoring freshman in league history, and Jesse Sanders, a freshman point guard who recorded the fifth triple-double in Big South history, Liberty won 20 games for the first time since 1996-97 and only the third time since the school joined Division I.

On Tuesday, the third-seeded Flames host Gardner-Webb in the Big South Conference tournament quarterfinals. Because the league receives only one automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Liberty must win the conference tournament in order to make its third NCAA appearance in school history.

Below, McKay talks about being a Christian, a coach and a Christian coach.

Click Here for Full Story

[SuperJon]

So you can go to all these AAU events and find plenty of kids right for Liberty?
I think there's been maybe one or two times where I really liked a kid and I wanted to get involved and we couldn't, not because he was afraid of the rules or Liberty. It was because a higher-level [program] recruited him. I think we're only limited by our [Big South conference affiliation], but that's not an indictment on the Big South. That's our responsibility to try to grow this thing.

A coach finally said it publicly.

[Sly Fox]

Karcher used to say it too ... but it generally was more of an excuse.

[flamesbball84]

kids dont really care what D1 offers them as long as someone does, unless its a major conference recruit. kids dream of playing D1 so as long as they got an offer it doesn't matter rather its LU or NJIT.

[SuperJon]

kids dont really care what D1 offers them as long as someone does, unless its a major conference recruit. kids dream of playing D1 so as long as they got an offer it doesn't matter rather its LU or NJIT.

You obviously have no clue how this thing works. Some kids go to the CAA simply because it's the CAA and not the Big South.

[kingaling42]

kids dont really care what D1 offers them as long as someone does, unless its a major conference recruit. kids dream of playing D1 so as long as they got an offer it doesn't matter rather its LU or NJIT.

You obviously have no clue how this thing works. Some kids go to the CAA simply because it's the CAA and not the Big South.

Yeah- it's apparent you missed the boat on that comment bball.. Kids know the difference between NJIT & most anyone else- some kids would even go to a good D-2 program before committing to a really poor D-1 school- I see it quite a bit!!

[TIMSCAR20]

kids dont really care what D1 offers them as long as someone does, unless its a major conference recruit. kids dream of playing D1 so as long as they got an offer it doesn't matter rather its LU or NJIT.

WOW you couldn't be more wrong.

[ToTheLeft]

Think about it this way, flamesbball...

Would you rather lose 30 games a year and never be on TV, or win 30 games a year and never be on TV?

That's the difference between NJIT and a top DII school.

[TIMSCAR20]

There are so many things a kid thinks about:

Gear,
TV
Conference
big name schools on schedule
are you a big name school
Playing time right away,
facilities
fan support/game atmosphere
tight game jerseys (different from gear)
Style of play
type of coaching style
do the players relate to the coaches
geographic location
do they have my major
and a host of other things. There is a huge difference between NJIT and most other division 1 schools. The divison 1 offer statement probably applies to borderline players at this level that end up at Division II or III schools.

[jcmanson]

hey bball84 you are so wrong...

[ToTheLeft]

hey bball84 you are so wrong...

Someone should start a totally different thread about how wrong he is.

[flamesfilmguy]

Hey if you guys didn't know bball is wrong.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Normal day then

[SuperJon]

On a side note, I really think Coach McKay is here to stay. I think this is the final stop on his coaching tour.

[Hold My Own]

Sorry I'm late to this thread















Geez bball you should stop breathing for being so wrong....think of it this way, if you stop breathing that will be the first thing you did right....not wrong

[thepostman]

On a side note, I really think Coach McKay is here to stay. I think this is the final stop on his coaching tour.

for a while I wasn't sure..but reading these last few interviews I really think that too

[flamesbball84]

Sorry I'm late to this thread















Geez bball you should stop breathing for being so wrong....think of it this way, if you stop breathing that will be the first thing you did right....not wrong

But then I can't tick off people like you, which is so much more satisfying

[Rooster Cogburn]

On a side note, I really think Coach McKay is here to stay. I think this is the final stop on his coaching tour.

I sincerely hope you are right

[flamesbball84]

Think about it this way, flamesbball...

Would you rather lose 30 games a year and never be on TV, or win 30 games a year and never be on TV?

That's the difference between NJIT and a top DII school.

If I can't afford a college education then D1 it is since you most likely aren't going to get a full scholarship at D2...

[LUconn]

On a side note, I really think Coach McKay is here to stay. I think this is the final stop on his coaching tour.

I don't see us as a final destination school. Maybe he builds us into one. But we do have certain limitations that he may get fed up with some day. Some self-imposed, some not.

[flamesfilmguy]

On a side note, I really think Coach McKay is here to stay. I think this is the final stop on his coaching tour.

I don't see us as a final destination school. Maybe he builds us into one. But we do have certain limitations that he may get fed up with some day. Some self-imposed, some not.

Why did you have to dirty this thread with that man's face?

[Hold My Own]

100% agree with you LUconn...Kyle's not the only one he could become fed up with though

[SuperJon]

I don't see us as a final destination school. Maybe he builds us into one. But we do have certain limitations that he may get fed up with some day. Some self-imposed, some not.

I think most coaches at this school, and most administrators, are already fed up with that. I think the first opportunity we get at something new we're gone. And really, it has nothing to do with the other schools in this conference. It's not a personal knock against those schools. The leadership at the conference level is so pathetically stupid that this league will never be anything more than what it is now.

[flameshaw]

I don't see us as a final destination school. Maybe he builds us into one. But we do have certain limitations that he may get fed up with some day. Some self-imposed, some not.

I think most coaches at this school, and most administrators, are already fed up with that. I think the first opportunity we get at something new we're gone. And really, it has nothing to do with the other schools in this conference. It's not a personal knock against those schools. The leadership at the conference level is so pathetically stupid that this league will never be anything more than what it is now

+1 my friend.

[Rooster Cogburn]

+2