Coach Yo Reloading

The head of the Ole Miss women’s basketball program talks sports and life.

Written by Eugene Stockstill | Photos Contributed by Ole Miss Athletics              

In her time at Ole Miss, Coach Yolett Alessia McPhee-McCuin has taken the women’s basketball team to four straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, and, under her leadership, the team has reached the Sweet 16 two times. So, when we interviewed her at the end of last year just before the season started, expectations were high. As of this writing, the team was ranked seventh in the ultra-competitive SEC and was battling through a tough schedule. Here are some of Coach Yo’s reflections on basketball, this season and her life.

Q: What’s your overall opinion about team rankings?

A: I just really have no opinion about it. While I enjoy the fact that people recognize our players, I try to focus more on what we think, because we’re around each other every day. For me, it’s more important what we think than someone from outside who hasn’t really had a chance to see us yet.

Q: You have some pressure on you this season. As a coach, how do you use that pressure to the team’s advantage?

A: I just think that having pressure is a good thing. I don’t know if people perform their best without it. Pressure either makes you weak or makes you go beyond. Our team really wants that opportunity and looks at it more as a blessing than a curse.

Q: You lost three starters last year but picked up at least eight players through the transfer portal. What does that say about the current state of college athletics?

A: You’ve got to get used to it. As long as these people have freedom of choice, they’re going to do what’s best for them. As coaches and fans, we have to understand that and stick with the ones who stick with us.

Q: What’s it like trying to foster school loyalty since the game has changed so much, thanks to the transfer portal and NIL? Is that an exercise in futility?

A: The fans have to stick with the love of the school. In pro sports, you fall in love with the player. And that’s what’s really cool about college. You can really fall in love with a school. If you get caught up in the player movement, it can break you. For me: Stay present, focus on the ones who are here. They’re here for a reason, and they’re here to win. If one year is all they can give, let’s celebrate them in that time. If four years is all they can give, then they’ll probably get a statue.

Q: You have what seems to be a huge following at Ole Miss. How proud does that make you?

A: I love Oxford, and I love the community. And I love the fact that I was able to come here and help bring notoriety back to women’s basketball. We had a little hiatus. This is just a new movement, and when people think of women’s basketball, I want them to mention Ole Miss.

Q: Strategically, how is this team different from last year’s?

A: We felt like we were intentional about filling holes that we had. We’re still athletic. We’re still going to be tough. We shoot the ball pretty well. As we continue to grow, people will be able to see us evolve into who we want to be in March.

Q: Talk a little bit about this year’s schedule.

A: We have some heavy hitters in the nonconference, from conference champions to P-4 schools. That was intentional to kind of expose us and get us ready for conference play. We’re in the best conference in the country. It’s arguable. But just look at the numbers. We have five in the top 10 and eight in the top 25. The best of the best come here. We set it up so that we could have enough competition early to prepare us for conference play.

Q: What are the keys to success this year?

A: It’s going to be buying into our roles and all of us staying together through adversity. It’s going to be being able to celebrate the small wins and also live for today. Stay focused on the present.

Q: How has your approach to the game changed since you first started coaching? Why?

A: It’s changed a lot because I’m older. I’ve experienced a lot. I’m really grateful for all the players who have come through. They taught me a lot. The things that I feel like I need to get better at, I focus on, and the things that I do well, I’m going to continue to do, which is to teach, develop and inspire the youth.

Q: What’s it like trying to inspire team play in this day and age?

A: It’s easy. You just teach them about life and the power of unity but also the power of them finding their own individual mode and adding it to the group. That’s important if you want to live in this society. No one wants to live alone. And that’s what team sports allow them to do, to live and work and excel with other people.

Q: You’ve been quoted as saying, ‘We don’t really replace, we kind of reload.’ What do you mean by that?

A: We don’t ever want to have to replace players. Players are going to leave. That’s a part of collegiate athletics. That’s life. You have a time when you get to be a part of someone’s life, and then they leave. That is just what happens. We don’t try to replace them. We want to reload with the same kind of people who have the same kind of goals, who want to do the same kind of things that the group before them did.

Q: You coach the Bahamian national team. What’s it like juggling two competitive teams?

A: It’s a blast. It’s two different seasons, two different types. The national team has way older players. They’re already professionals, the majority of them. In college, you have an opportunity to shape 18- to 20-year-olds. The game is still the same. They’re just at two different phases of their lives.

Q: On a more personal note, what was it like transitioning from the Bahamas to the U.S.?

A: It was a challenge, but it has made me who I am. My roots stay with me. I’ll never forget where I’m from. Coming to the United States … has introduced me to different cultures, different environments, different beliefs and has helped me become the person I am today.

Q: What’s it like for you and your family living in Oxford? Do you ever hear ‘Hey, Coach Yo!’ around town?

A: We love it. We’re engrossed in the family, in the community. My daughter plays soccer and basketball. I’m at PTA meetings, and I’m also in the community through my foundation. We’re well known in the Oxford community. We love it here. We feel like they love us here, and we love them back. I don’t think I can go out of my house without saying hello or taking a picture. I’ll always be grateful for that.