‘Cock Great Mckie Hired At Charleston So.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern men’s basketball head coach Barclay Radebaugh announced on Thursday that former South Carolina standout BJ McKie will join his staff as an assistant coach. McKie joins the coaching ranks after completing a professional playing career in Europe, and will reunite with Radebaugh who served as an assistant coach during McKie’s time at USC. “BJ is a tremendous addition to our basketball staff. I have known BJ for over a decade and have great respect for him as a person and an excitement for what he will bring to our program as an assistant coach,” says Radebaugh. “His work ethic, tenacity and understanding of how to play the game were unmatched as a player. I am excited and confident that he will bring those same qualities to the CSU basketball program as a coach, mentor and recruiter. I know our players will benefit greatly from his collegiate and professional experiences.” A native of Norfolk, Va., McKie finished his playing career at South Carolina (1996-99) as the Gamecocks’ all-time leading scorer with 2,119 career points and was recently honored by the Southeast Conference as an SEC Basketball Legend as part of its class of 2011. McKie was named the 1996 SEC Freshman of the Year, and is just the 12th player in league history to earn Associated Press First Team SEC for three seasons. The two-time team captain played in 123 consecutive games at the guard position, scoring in double figures 111 times and recording 38 games with 20 or more points. McKie averaged 17.3 points per game as senior and finished third in SEC scoring that season. In 1997, McKie averaged 17.4 ppg to lead the Gamecocks to their first ever SEC basketball title. South Carolina appeared in the NCAA Tournament in both 1997 and 1998, ranking 14th in the nation and receiving the number three seed in the 1998 NCAA Tournament. He is one of five Gamecock players to hav e his jersey retired. “BJ has always wanted to be a coach,” said former South Carolina head coach Eddie Fogler. “Because of playing overseas he has not been able to pursue that career. Personally, I am thrilled that he will be joining Coach Radebaugh’s program. BJ has a great mind for the game and will bring a toughness to the CSU program. He was as competitive of a player as I have ever coached, and it is great to see him and Coach Radebaugh together again.” Following his career at USC, McKie competed professionally for a number of teams overseas. McKie played for BCM Gravelines in France, Keravnos in Cyprus, as well as Avitos Geissen and TBB Trier in Germany. He also spent time with Pepsi Caserta and Nuova Pallacanestro Pavia in Italy; Maccabi Haifa Heat and Hapoel Afula in Israel. In 2004, McKie was named a Basketball Budesliga while competing in Germany. “I’m very excited to join the Charleston Southern family,” says McKie. “I would like to thank Hank Small and Coach Radebaugh for giving me this opportunity. It has always been my dream to be a Division I basketball coach, and I’m very excited to start on this new phase of my life. Coach Radebaugh has done a great job of building up the Buccaneer basketball program and I thrilled to be a part of the process.” McKie will be available for comment from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday evening.