Danielle McCray isn’t a vocal basketball player.

She said she rarely strays from a balanced demeanor and isn’t going to be the player in the locker room hyping the rest of players up before a game. She prefers to lead by example, letting her game do the talking.

Off the court, the sophomore guard’s voice is heard more often. She said she calls her mother five times a day. She also communicates daily with Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson, the woman who makes McCray feel like “family” and persuaded McCray to come to Kansas, instead of national power Duke.

“I talk to coach Bonnie every day that she is in town,” McCray said. “A lot of players love to talk to our assistants but I’m the only one that has the close bond in talking to coach. She even calls and talks to my mom, too.”

McCray said Henrickson always stayed on her to get better on the court but helped her grow as a person as well. McCray said that while in high school, the competition didn’t challenge her. She said she was a little overweight coming into college and hadn’t taken practice as seriously as she should have.

McCray has since slimmed down and learned that practice is often more important than the game.

“Coach Bonnie and I really are like the same person,” McCray said. “She never yells but she’ll come over and tell me the negatives with my playing. I like it though, it motivates me to prove I’m better than that.”

McCray said she loves playing for Kansas, but prior to Henrickson coaching at the University, McCray had her sights on other places.

“When I moved to Kansas, I came to a KU game and I didn’t like this school,” McCray said. “I remember they got blown out by 30 to K-State and I didn’t like that.”

McCray said that when Henrickson became the coach, her perception about the school started to change.

She said while Duke only communicated to her through the assistant coaches, Henrickson talked directly to her and her family.

The personal connection may be paying off. In five of the final six games last season, McCray scored in double figures, including a career-high 25 points in a double-overtime victory against rival Kansas State. McCray said she had begun to accomplish her goal of starting a winning tradition at Kansas similar to that of the men’s team. She said she hoped that her time at Kansas could define the path of the program for years to come.

Despite being second on the team in scoring and named to the All-Big 12 freshman team, McCray said she felt she underachieved last season. She said this year she would make the transition to guard after being a forward last season.

Over the course of the summer, McCray has used the time to improve her ball-handling skills and lifts weights to strengthen her inside game. She said she enjoyed working Henrickson’s basketball camps and watching the children playing around her. She said it was fun signing autographs for the children who look up to her and her teammates.

McCray and her teammates will leave August 3 on an exhibition tour against semi-pro teams in Australia. The team will play four games during the tour and get to take in some of the sights in Australia during the off days.

“I’ve never been out of the United States,” McCray said. “I picture playing like these big girls with weird uniforms. Either way I know it will be a great experience.”

— Edited by Joe Caponio