Ritchie McKay on Conceptual Coaching, Packline, and the Value of Mentors (EP394)
The Basketball Podcast
Chris Oliver
4.3 • 525 Ratings
🗓️ 15 October 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this week's basketball coaching conversation, Liberty University head coach Ritchie McKay joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on conceptual coaching, packline and the value of mentors.
Ritchie McKay is the head coach of Liberty University’s men’s basketball program, where he has led the Flames to unprecedented success since returning in 2015. In his second stint at Liberty, McKay has guided the team to seven 20-plus win seasons, including a school-record 30 victories in 2019–20. Under his leadership, Liberty captured three ASUN Tournament titles, four regular season championships, and earned its first NCAA Tournament win in program history in 2019. Over the past six seasons, Liberty has won 149 games—eighth most in the nation during that span.
Before returning to Liberty, McKay spent six seasons as associate head coach at the University of Virginia under Tony Bennett. During his tenure, the Cavaliers posted a 136–64 record, won the ACC Championship in 2014, and made three NCAA Tournament appearances.
McKay’s head coaching career spans over two decades, with previous stops at New Mexico, Oregon State, Colorado State, and Portland State. At New Mexico, he led the Lobos to an 82–69 record over five seasons, including a Mountain West Conference title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2005. At Colorado State, McKay posted a 37–23 record and guided the Rams to the NIT quarterfinals in 1999. His tenure at Portland State marked the revival of a dormant program, earning national recognition and a Clair Bee Award finalist nod for innovation in coaching.
In total, McKay has amassed over 400 career wins and holds the highest winning percentage in Liberty program history. His coaching accolades include multiple Coach of the Year honors, national recognition for leadership, and a reputation for building programs that compete with integrity and purpose.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Awesome to welcome Liberty University men's basketball coach Richie McKay to the basketball podcast. |
| 0:06.1 | Coach McKay led the flames to an unprecedented success since returning in 2015. |
| 0:11.6 | In his second stint at Liberty, McKay has guided the team to 720-plus win seasons, |
| 0:17.1 | including a school record 30 victories in 2019-20. |
| 0:22.9 | Under his leadership, Liberty captured three A-sun tournament titles for regular season championships and earned its first NCAA |
| 0:28.2 | tournament win in program history in 2019. Over the past six seasons, Liberty has won 149 games, |
| 0:35.1 | eighth most in the nation during that span. Before returning to Liberty, |
| 0:38.9 | McKay spent six seasons as associate head coach at the University of Virginia under Tony Bennett. |
| 0:43.3 | During his tenure, the Cavaliers posted 136 and 64 record won the ACC Championship in 2014 and made |
| 0:50.2 | three NCAA tournament appearances. McKay's head coaching career spans over two decades, |
| 0:55.1 | with previous stops at New Mexico, Oregon State, Colorado State, and Portland State. |
| 1:01.9 | In total, McKay has amassed over 400 career wins and holds the highest winning percentage |
| 1:05.8 | in Liberty Program history. His coaching accolades include multiple Coach of the Year honors, national recognition |
| 1:12.2 | for leadership, and reputation for building programs that compete with integrity and purpose. |
| 1:18.2 | Hey, coach, a brief time out from the podcast to bring you the Analytics Minute, sponsored by Hoopsiletics. |
| 1:24.8 | How do you decide who your biggest impact players are? Traditional stats don't tell |
| 1:29.3 | the whole story, which is why high-level pro and college teams rely on analytic systems like |
| 1:34.3 | Hoops Olytics to make data-driven lineup decisions. Examining team stats when a player is on the |
| 1:40.5 | floor tells a more compelling story. For example, you can use net points per possession |
| 1:44.9 | to determine your best two-way players, as well as your offensive and defensive stars, |
| 1:50.0 | or use the team rebounding percentage for each player to see who has the biggest impact on |
| 1:54.6 | rebounding. The results may surprise you. Hoopsiletics brings the most powerful analytics to teams |
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