Dawn Staley releases heartfelt statement on death of Nikki McCray-Penson

South Carolina women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley has released a statement on the passing of legendary Tennessee guard and former Team USA teammate Nikki McCray-Penson. They played in the Olympics together, and McCray-Penson later served an assistant coach under Staley at South Carolina.

McCray-Penson, 51, passed away Thursday after a reported battle with cancer and pneumonia, according to the Knox News’ Cora Hall. Although she and Staley went to different colleges, they joined forces during the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. They helped lead the United States to two gold medals on those teams.

Then, after their playing days, both McCray-Penson and Staley went into coaching. In 2008, Staley brought McCray-Penson aboard at South Carolina, and she played a key role in the Gamecocks’ 2017 national championship run.

“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived,” Staley said. “From her days as a brash rookie in USA Basketball to becoming my friend and colleague to the way she mentored young players, Nikki did everything with her whole heart. Every teammate, every coach, every player who spent time with her knew first that she cared about them as a person, and everything else came from that place.

“Her presence was something you could feel before you saw her because she had such light, such positive energy inside her no matter what was going on. I am heartbroken that cancer has taken that light from us, but I know that she would want us to be the ones to carry it on in her absence. I pray that we all have the strength to do that for her and her son Lil Thomas.”

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McCray-Penson had a legendary career at Tennessee, winning SEC Player of the Year honors twice and helping the Lady Vols reach the Final Four in 1995 while playing for Pat Summit. She also spent nine seasons in the WNBA and was named an all-star three times. She also won two gold medals with Team USA and is in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

McCray-Penson started her coaching career as an assistant at Western Kentucky, before joining the South Carolina staff. She left the Gamecocks program in 2017 and was hired as the head coach at Old Dominion, prior to landing the head coaching job at Mississippi State and then ultimately being forced to resign due to health reasons.