“Coach Yo” Is Her

Yolette McPhee McCuin Is Bahamian History

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – University of Mississippi Women’s basketball coach Yolette McPhee McCuin does not get the respect she deserve around here.

She gets coverage in the local media. Every night Ole Miss scores are published online, on the new networks and in papers. We know what she’s up to at all times and that’s great.

The Bahamas needs to be updated on her happenings.

The problem isn’t what’s being reported about Coach Yo, it’s how it gets reported.

Coach Yo gets reported on matter-of-factly, like “of course there’s a Bahamian coaching Ole Miss’s women’s basketball team”, when the truth of the matter is that her exploits are unprecedented in Bahamian lore.

She is heavily respected by the local basketball community, having been named an assistant coach of the men’s national basketball team. People who follow basketball team seem to understand how significant her accomplishments are, however she doesn’t get reported to the general public with the respect that she deserves.

That’s going to get fixed, right here, right now. 

Never before has a Bahamian, man or woman, been the head coach of an NCAA Division-1 team sport. Coach McCuin made history and crossed this threshold when she became the University of Jacksonville Dolphins head coach in 2013. 

She would go on to lead the Dolphins to a 94-63 record, taking a team that went 13-17 her first year and turning them into a 24-9 team her 5th and final year.

She would turn the Ole Miss women’s program around when she joined in 2018, turning the Rebels from a struggling outfit that went 9-22 to a respectable SEC team that went 23-9 last season. This season looks to be her best ever with a deep roster sprinkled with highly-ranked recruits and experienced transfer portal players. 

This team is expected to win, and we will read the results on ESPN or in your local newspaper. You can find those anywhere. ..

This is most important than any stat you can find on basketball reference: 

Yolette McPhee McCuin is a Bahamian legend.

She’s accomplished things, no Bahamian has ever done before, leading NCAA D1 and Power-5 schools. 

At only 40 years old, she will achieve many more accomplishments.

You should probably follow what she’s doing so when a high school or a road is inevitably named after her, you can shut down any ridiculous barbershop argument for why it shouldn’t be. 

Every time you read her team’s results, you’re reading a piece of Bahamian history. So think about that the next time she comes up in the news, and will, tomorrow because her team plays tonight. 

The legend of Coach Yo continues tonight as her Ole Miss Rebels take on Kennesaw state. So tune in.