Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- jmccorve@umich.edu
Joy McCorvey is in her sixth season as an assistant coach for the University of Michigan women's basketball team in 2017-18. McCorvey works with the forwards and post players, most notably helping Cyesha Goree to back-to-back All-Big Ten second team nods
McCorvey helped Michigan to its first postseason championship in 2016-2017 as the Wolverines captured the WNIT Championship after being left out of the NCAA Tournament despite a third place finish in the Big Ten. Michigan went 11-5 in conference play to finish alone in third place, its highest finish since 2011 and the second-most Big Ten wins in program history. Katelynn Flaherty and Hallie Thome each earned All-Big Ten first-team honors to mark the first time U-M had multiple first teamers. The Wolverines regrouped during the WNIT, reeling off six straight wins for the title. U-M held off Georgia Tech in three overtimes in the championship game to hang its first banner in Crisler.Â
U-M shattered records in 2016-17, setting new program records in wins (28), points (2,846), home wins (19), winning percentage (.756), three-pointers made (279) and rebounds (1,403). Flaherty became the second player in school history to top 2,000 points (2,019) and Thome became the third sophomore to reach the 1,000-point mark (1,105).Â
Michigan has made the postseason in each of the last five seasons, highlighted by a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament during the 2012-13 season. U-M has found itself back in the national spotlight as well during that time, returning to the Associated Press poll in January 2013 for the first time in 10 years. Michigan has been ranked six times in the AP poll and four times in the coaches' poll over the last five years.Â
McCorvey has helped four players to five All-Big Ten honors during her time in Ann Arbor. In 2014-15, McCorvey helped Cyesha Goree earn her second straight All-Big Ten second-team nod as one of five players in the Big Ten to average a double-double at 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Goree reset her own season record in rebounds, grabbing 367 as a senior. She graduated as the only Wolverine in school history with two 300+ rebound seasons.
On the recruiting trail, McCorvey helped Michigan sign a five-member class in 2014 that ranked as the No. 23 class in the country by the All-Star Girls Report. In 2015, Michigan signed a consensus top-20 class.
McCorvey followed head coach Kim Barnes Arico to Ann Arbor after spending one season as a member of Barnes Arico's staff at St. John's University during the 2011-12 season. McCorvey worked primarily with the post players and helped guide the Red Storm to a 24-10 overall record and a second-place finish in the final BIG EAST Conference standings with a 13-3 league record.The Red Storm finished behind NCAA Championship runner-up, Notre Dame, and ahead of Connecticut, who advanced to the 2012 Final Four.
St. John's pushed UConn to third place after defeating the Huskies 57-56 (Feb. 19, 2012) in Storrs, snapping Connecticut's 99-game home winning streak.The Red Storm also made the program's first Sweet 16 appearance after reaching the NCAA postseason tournament for a third consecutive year.
Before entering the coaching ranks, McCorvey is synonymous as one of the great names in St. John women's basketball history. She established herself as one of the Red Storm's greatest leaders both on and off the court during her four years as a student-athlete.
She was instrumental in lifting St. John's into the national spotlight, leading lead the team to three postseason runs. As a senior in 2009-10, McCorvey was part of one of Barnes Arico's most successful teams, as the Red Storm finished with a 25-7 overall record and advanced to the Second Round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
A former St. John's captain, she was a three-time Big East All-Academic Team selection (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10), a top 30 candidate for the 2010 Lowe's® Senior CLASS Award, a member of St. John's University's prestigious President's Society and was the 2008 recipient of the St. John's University Marianne Noonan Memorial.
She is just one of four St. John's players to amass more than 700 points and 700 rebounds. She ranks third in St. John's all-time rebounding records with 777 career boards. McCorvey also ranks fifth all-time in field goal percentage (.517) and ninth in career blocks with 72. She made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2006-07, playing in 28 games with 26 starts and averaging 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds.
As a sophomore, McCorvey was just one of two players to start in all 33 contests, averaging 5.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. She also dished out a career-best 47 assists and helped lead the Red Storm to the WNIT Quarterfinals.
In 2008-09, McCorvey's .565 field goal percentage ranked third in St. John's single-season records. She averaged 6.0 points, 5.4 boards, and tallied a career-high 47 steals as the Red Storm advanced to the third round of the WNIT.
During St. John's successful 2009-10 season, McCorvey's posted career-high averages of 7.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and recorded a career-best 28 blocks. She also made major strides as a free throw shooter, shooting at a .780 clip from the foul line. McCorvey totaled five double-doubles and her on-court leadership was essential to St. John's run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
