The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels, Bahamian Head Coach Yolett “Coach Yo” McPhee-McCuin and Bahamian point guard Valerie Nesbitt won’t be a part of this year’s field of 64 teams for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, but few could argue that it has been a progressive season for that squad, finishing with a .500 or better overall record for the first time since the 2016-2017 season.
The Lady Rebels (11-11, 4-10 SEC) defeated then 13th ranked Arkansas in the second round of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship before falling to the nationally number 14 ranked Tennessee Volunteers (16-7, 9-4 SEC) in a close game in the quarterfinals, 77-72, on Friday March 5. Arkansas, Alabama and Kentucky made the field of 64 while Ole Miss did not. All three were beaten by Ole Miss this year, and in the case of Kentucky, they lost to McPhee-McCuin’s squad twice.
Be that as it may, the Lady Rebels were not selected on Monday night, despite the progressive season. Regardless, McPhee-McCuin was awarded.
Leading them to their first SEC quarterfinal appearance in 11 seasons, and turning in a significant improvement over her first two years in the program, McPhee-McCuin earned a four-year contract extension.
The Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) offered its congratulations to McPhee-McCuin who has been ratified by the federation on a number of occasions as national coach on the women’s side.
“Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has once again demonstrated the awesome capability of being able to turn around programs wherever she has landed,” said BBF President Mario Bowleg in a statement. “This agreement comes as no surprise to the federation for we have first-hand familiarity with Coach Yo’s hard work, dedication and commitment to the game of basketball, having resurrected our own disheveled Bahamas Women’s National Team program, beginning in 2013. In three short years, she was able to win the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championship for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, a feat not achieved in the previous ten years of competition.”
That historic victory for The Bahamas at the CBC Championship in 2015 allowed the country to qualify for the 2016 Centrobasket Championship.
“Indeed, the BBF has been following McPhee-McCuin’s career long before her current stewardship which
began at Ole Miss in 2018-2019, particularly at Jacksonville University, in Jacksonville, Florida,” said Bowleg. “There is no question of the Ole Miss Lady Rebels’ performance in the SEC this season. The federation wishes Coach McPhee-McCuin and the Ole Miss Lady Rebels every success in the future and is anxious to witness the continuation of this auspicious 2020-2021 season.”
Bowleg also applauded the staff of McPhee-McCuin who were provided with additional financial commitments from the university.
The Bahamian head coach at Ole Miss helped transform the Lady Rebels into a squad to be reckoned with this year, turning around a program that produced just one conference win the season prior to her arrival in 2018 and helping to build a winning culture. The Lady Rebels won six straight out of the gate this season, went through a losing streak at the beginning of conference play amidst a mini COVID-19 outbreak, and then battled back with competitive play down the stretch. They had three ranked victories, four NET top-50 wins, narrow ranked losses and a run to the SEC quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
The post BBF congratulates McPhee-McCuin on contract extension appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/bbf-congratulates-mcphee-mccuin-on-contract-extension/
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