As the 18th coach of the UNM men's basketball program, Ritchie McKay has some of the closest ties to its history.
His father, Joe McKay, played for UNM from 1960-1963, including one season under Bob King, considered by many to be the architect of modern Lobo basketball.
During Friday's teleconference, McKay said the first NCAA game he ever saw was a fourth-ranked Lobo team lose to California State University at Fullerton in the 1978 NCAA Tournament, perhaps one of the most disappointing moments in Lobo history.
The road to Albuquerque traveled primarily through the Northwest and the Rocky Mountains, although he played in Australia for two years.
McKay, 36, has a wife, Julia, and three children: sons Luke and Gabriel and daughter Ellie.
Playing career
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Seattle Pacific University, 1984-1987: McKay was the program's single season and career record-holder for steals and was third in career assists. He still holds the record for most steals in a game with 10 against Pacific Lutheran in 1987.
He played two seasons professionally in New Zealand.
Coaching career
Seven years as an assistant coach:
1988-1989, graduate assistant, University of Washington
1989-1990, assistant coach, Queens College (N.C.)
1990-1991, assistant coach, Seattle Pacific
1991-1993, assistant coach, Bradley University
1993-1995, assistant coach, University of Washington
Six years as a head coach:
1995-1998, Portland State University. The school did not field a team until 1996 after dropping the sport in 1981 as a cost-cutting measure. The Vikings started the seaosn 0-5 but won seven of their last 12 games to finish with a 9-17 record.
But one of its crowning achievements that season was a near upset of eventual Southeastern Conference Western Division champs University of Mississippi in the season opener.
A desperation 30-foot, 3-pointer by Chris Olney at the buzzer kept the Vikings from pulling off the win. Rob Evans, the current Arizona State University head coach and a finalist for the Lobo job, was the coach at Mississippi.
In the 1997-1998 season, the Vikings led the Big Sky Conference at 8-2 at one point in the season before finishing 9-9 for the season, good for third place. Portland State was 15-12 overall.
1998-2000, Colorado State University. McKay signed a four-year contract in August of 1998; just weeks after Stew Morrill left the school for the Utah State University coaching position. He led the Rams to a 19-12 record in his first season at CSU and the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. His team finished 7-7 in the Western Athletic Conference.
He received a two-year extension with the Rams after that season, and led them to an 18-12 mark, 6-8 in the new Mountain West Conference in 1999-2000.
His team was plagued by inconsistency, starting the season slow before reeling off 10 wins in 12 games. CSU slumped to a 2-3 finish. The Rams enjoyed upsets over 18th-ranked University of California at Los Angeles in the Pearl Harbor Classic in December and the 24th-ranked University of Utah in February of 2000.
2000-2002, Oregon State University. McKay signed a four-year deal at Oregon State, but found little success in his two years.
Injuries and ineligible players plagued his team in 2000-2001, a 10-20 season. Junior college recruit, Phillip Ricci, red-shirted after undergoing knee surgery. His most talented recruit, 6-foot-10 Chris Maker, had a stress fracture in his left leg that prevented him from playing.
The 2001-2002 season saw the Beavers fail to qulify for the Pac-10 Conference tournament. The Beavers suffered defections from two of their top players in one week, although one - junior forward Brian Jackson - returned to the team a couple of days later.
The highlight for the team was building a 21-point lead in the first half against then-No. 15 University of Arizona before losing 93-87. Oregon State finished with a 12-17 record, 4-14 in the Pac-10.
