Sky not limiting McCray

McCray's latest WNBA address is Chicago, specifically a downtown apartment in the heart of the Windy City.

Surrounded by all the high-rise buildings, the former Tennessee Lady Vol All-American still has an unobstructed view. She sees a great opportunity for herself with the Chicago Sky, an expansion franchise that opened its season last night in Charlotte.

"I'm riding it,'' McCray said. "I'm loving every minute of it. I want this year to be a good year for me.

The minutes and ultimately the basketball years are beginning to dwindle for the 34-year-old McCray. The fifth WNBA stop for the two-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2000) could be the last entry on the resume. It's quite a basketball bio, considering she's also been a three-time all-star in the WNBA and was the most valuable player of the now-defunct American Basketball League.

She was a free-agent signee with the Sky after playing with San Antonio last season.

"She was cute, asking, 'Coach, how much longer do you think I can do this?' '' Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt said.

Summitt assured McCray that she had some years left, to which McCray responded: "I don't know. My body is talking to me."

McCray didn't rest her chances in Chicago on her reputation -- far from it in fact. By McCray's estimation, the Knoxville resident put her body on a workout schedule of about 10 hours a day, five days a week throughout the winter.

Her best years were based on a bedrock of athleticism, which enhanced not only her defensive skills but also her ability to run the floor in transition.

"I was really pleased to see how relentless she was,'' Summitt said. "She seemed very passionate about it."

McCray occasionally took part in Lady Vols practices and also played pick-up with the men Vols.

"They were very helpful,'' McCray said of men's coach Bruce Pearl and his staff. "I'd stay after and watch their practice and pick their brains about this and that.

"I was very inspired being back at Tennessee."

When Sky teammate Ashley Robinson, another former Lady Vol, saw McCray this spring, she said: "I can't believe how good you look."

"I wanted to come in in great shape,'' McCray said. "That's what's going to keep your longevity. I'm no stranger to the game and what it takes to be successful.''

Conversely, it hasn't hurt that McCray was a stranger to her new team. The Sky is the third league team -- Connecticut and Washington being the others -- not to partner with an NBA team. The Sky's primary owner is Michael Alter, a commercial real estate developer. The team will play its games at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion.

Interestingly, the team's fledgling infrastructure has resulted in another Tennessee tie. Sara Parker, the mother of UT All-American Candace Parker, is the team's office manager.

More importantly for McCray, the team went outside the women's basketball world for its coach, hiring former Boston Celtics great/NBA coach Dave Cowens.

"He sees the game totally different than coaches in WNBA,'' McCray said. "He breaks the game down from A to Z. A lot of the coaches I've played with in the WNBA don't do that. It's an incredible amount of teaching he's done in a short period of time."

Given Cowens' lack of experience with the players, McCray and her teammates are starting with a clean slate.

"To be in a situation where you just go and play,'' McCray said. "It's like letting the cat out of the bag."

It's an exciting beginning for a player who might be nearing the end of her career.

"You want to enjoy every moment, every single day,'' McCray said. "It's something I'm going to cherish."