Former Tennessee stars remember late Nikki McCray-Penson's impact on Lady Vols

Abby Conklin spent the summer of 1995 working out with Nikki McCray-Penson.

Conklin was going into her junior season with the Lady Vols basketball team. McCray-Penson had just graduated from Tennessee and earned a spot on the U.S. women's team for the 1996 Olympics.

McCray-Penson put Conklin through her shooting workout. She had spots all over the court, and she'd take 20 shots from each spot. It was nonstop running.

"Probably 20-30 minutes into it, I'm so tired that I'm just running in place," Conklin said. "I can't even pick my feet up off the floor, and she's running around me, just laughing and telling me how much better I've got to get and how much harder I've got to work. So she was on me, but she was also making it fun."

That summer with McCray-Penson elevated Conklin’s game and prepared her to step into a veteran role for the Lady Vols. Before McCray-Penson left for fall camp with Team USA, she gave Conklin a parting gift.

"She's like, 'Hey, I brought you something,' and she gave me her USA Basketball jersey that she tried out in for the Olympics," Conklin said. "I wore that jersey every day. I ran three miles every other day and I ran in her jersey and just kind of kept her with me because we'd worked out all summer."

Conklin still has the jersey. It will forever be a reminder of the summer of workouts with her friend and teammate, who died Thursday. McCray-Penson was reportedly battling cancer and a bout of pneumonia, sending shockwaves across the women’s basketball community. She was 51.

"Nikki never appeared to have a bad day," former Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick said. "And a lot of people, they can't say that."

How Nikki McCray-Penson made everyone around her better

Michelle Marciniak was in the best shape of her life going into her junior year at UT. She was determined to at least keep up with McCray-Penson during the preseason timed mile.

And she did – for the first two and a half laps. McCray-Penson turned to Marciniak and asked, "You all right, Shelly Shell?" with a grin. Marciniak nodded, unable to answer as she gasped for air.

"All right, see you at the finish line," McCray-Penson said before taking off and leaving behind Marciniak, who realized McCray-Penson had been jogging before. But she paced Marciniak to a personal-best mile time of 6:02 and still ran a sub-five-minute mile.

"That was Nikki, in a way that I can describe her, of what she did with each and every teammate, each and every person, whether she coached you or you played with her," Marciniak said. "That's the kind of teammate she was, it wasn't about her. She's just out there having fun and smiling and pushing everybody to be the best that they can be."

McCray-Penson worked out with other teammates often. It was almost a rite of passage for young players. Laurie Vizzini, then Laurie Milligan, still remembers her first workout with McCray-Penson. After a five-mile run and hill sprints, the freshman barely held it together until McCray-Penson left before vomiting behind the bushes.

Conklin used to think she was having a great day working out with her until she realized McCray-Penson had already run her five miles and hit the weight room.

The guard from Collierville had an unmatched work ethic that carried into her 16-year coaching career that included winning a national title as an assistant at South Carolina in 2017. McCray-Penson was also the coach for Old Dominion and Mississippi State before spending last season as an assistant at Rutgers.

"She was one of the best assistants you could have just because of her work ethic," Warlick said. "She was tireless on recruiting, she knew everybody. She knew every recruit."

The humility and faith of Nikki McCray-Penson

It felt like someone punched her in the chest when Pashen Thompson heard the news about McCray-Penson.

Like some other former teammates, Thompson knew her cancer had returned. But no one expected the news that came Friday. Thompson will always remember McCray-Penson's humor, how she loved to sing and her commitment to her faith.

"With me being from the south, we had that connection. She would always say, 'P, you know God is good,' " Thompson said. "And I said, 'Yes, he is.' She would say, 'All the time.' And I would say, 'All the time.' So just her commitment to God and her commitment to being the best player on the basketball court."

The last time Thompson saw McCray-Penson was in 2021 when she was coaching at Mississippi State. Thompson’s son, Isaiah, received an offer to play football at MSU and the family was attending a game when Thompson saw a familiar face.

"(McCray-Penson) was there with some recruits at the football game, and we made eye contact, we both started screaming," Thompson said. "She was screaming, 'Pashen!' and I was screaming, 'Nikki!' and we ran to the end zone and hugged each other … that was the last time that we saw each other, and every time, it was as though nothing changed."

There was a sincere humility about McCray-Penson. Marciniak considers her an unsung hero of the teams she played on, even though she was a superstar in her own right. The two-time All-American never sought out the spotlight – she never needed it.

She dealt with cancer the same way. She kept things private and never felt sorry for herself.

"I think she dealt with her cancer diagnosis and fight in the same way, which is you just fight it," Marciniak said. "I'm not going to have a pity party, just like (coach) Pat (Summitt) would say with her Alzheimer's ... and I think Nikki just kind of treated cancer just like she played basketball, which is to show up, get your job done and then you just let your light shine."

Why Nikki McCray-Penson's impact set foundation for future success

McCray-Penson led Tennessee to three SEC regular-season championships, two SEC Tournament titles and an appearance in the 1995 national championship game her senior year.

She went on to play two seasons in the ABL – where she won an MVP award and a championship – and nine in the WNBA, where she was a three-time all-star who scored 2,550 career points. McCray-Penson was inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

She never won an NCAA title, but her impact on the Lady Vols played a part in the three consecutive national championships that followed her.

"Tennessee basketball didn't all of a sudden appear on the earth as the best ever," Marciniak said. "It came from every single year of every single player to build the foundation of the program. And Nikki's four years at Tennessee built the foundation for the next generation."

McCray-Penson's encouragement to young players and her example of how to be a great teammate is what Vizzini will remember most – she was like a caretaker to the underclassmen.

During Vizzini's first scrimmage in front of fans, Summitt told McCray-Penson to make it hard on Vizzini and guard the freshman full court. She'd let Vizzini take a few dribbles, then she'd steal it away and make an easy layup.

"She did it again, probably three or four times," Vizzini said. "And of course I'm on the verge of tears, and Nikki's looking at Pat going, 'Should I still be doing this? Are you sure I should be embarrassing her like this in front of all these fans?' "

After about the fifth steal and score, Summitt called her off, but McCray-Penson felt so bad, she came up to Vizzini after the scrimmage to apologize.

"She had such a sweet, soft spirit," Vizzini said. "She wanted to make us all better by being a good teammate and being a good example of what hard work looks like, what graciousness looks like. She always had a smile on her face, no matter how hard it was for her, and she was always super encouraging."

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee teammates remember Nikki McCray's impact on Lady Vols