Defensive feat: Footwear-collecting McCray leads No. 21 Kansas on both ends

McCray even better after improving defense

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Danielle McCray spent part of the holiday break shopping for shoes, the three new pairs pushing her close to the 200 mark.

The growing collection fills the apartment she shares with teammate Angel Goodrich and includes a wide range of Nike Air Jordans and Air Force Ones, some Pumas, the Adidas she wears for No. 21 Kansas, a few flats, not many heels.

No matter the occasion or outfit in her closet, McCray has a pair of shoes that’ll fit.

Same thing could be said for her game.

Sharpening her commitment to defense this season, McCray has added the missing piece to her already formidable repertoire, becoming one of the best all-around players in the country.

“She’s definitely gifted on the offensive end and I think she’s gotten better defensively from last year to this year,” said Pepperdine coach Julie Rousseau, who coached McCray at this year’s World University Games in Serbia.

Offense has never been a problem.

Able to score on the perimeter, in the post and on the move, McCray came to Lawrence shooting. She was second on the team in scoring at 10.5 points a game as a freshman, led the Jayhawks the next season at 14.9 and was eighth in the country with 21.6 points as a junior.

McCray has been even better this season.

The Big 12’s preseason player of the year, the senior has been more aggressive at crashing the offensive glass and become more patient, staying within the flow of the offense instead of occasionally forcing shots against double teams.

McCray is second in the Big 12 at 21.2 points per game and had 30 points in consecutive games in mid-December, including a career-best 37 against Houston. She is shooting 51 percent from the floor, 31 of 62 from 3-point range.

“The good shot rule is the same for Danielle as it is for anybody else: as long as nobody has a better shot,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “Well, she shoots it pretty well, so nobody probably has a better shot than Danielle. But she’s become more patient, found good rhythm — she’s made good decisions.”

McCray has always had a good all-around offensive game.

She’s averaged around seven rebounds a game each of the past three seasons, leading the Jayhawks last season as a 5-foot-11 guard. McCray is second on the team this season at 6.8 rebounds and second to Goodrich, the point guard, with 39 assists.

Now, she’s playing defense, too.

When McCray first arrived at Kansas, she wasn’t in good enough shape and didn’t have the mindset to be a good defender. Scoring was her priority.

At Henrickson’s urging, McCray worked at becoming better defensively, putting in the same kind of effort on that end of the floor as she did on offense. This season, McCray leads Kansas with 23 steals and has occasionally been asked to guard the opposing team’s best player, a task usually handled by fellow senior Sade Morris, one of the best defenders in the Big 12.

McCray probably won’t become the lockdown defender Morris is, but at least now she plays hard all the time instead of occasionally taking plays off at the defensive end.

“In high school, I relied on scoring and we played 2-3 (zone) a lot,” McCray said. “I had to adjust to the speed, too. When you’re in a perimeter defense on the D-I level, it’s quicker, you have to think faster, and I wasn’t on the defensive end. But I think these two years, I’ve made it to where I want to be a good defender. Not a great defender, but a good defender.”

Defense was the one missing piece to McCray’s game, the one that might have hindered her chances at playing in the WNBA after this season. Now that she’s become a solid defender, shown she’s willing to work at it, McCray should have a good shot at playing professionally.

“She has a patience to be better on the court and she has a good work ethic — she’s just a good teammate,” said Rousseau, a former assistant and interim head coach with the WBNA’s Los Angeles Sparks. “Those are things that allow college players that have that gift and ability to play at the next level. She’s complete. She’s a great player.”