March 30--Tori McCoy graciously answers the questions she knows are coming, but they've grown a bit old.
Did success come too easily your freshman and sophomore years? How devastating was tearing your ACL as a junior, coming off a state title, being the heavy favorite for another?
How tough was it dropping from the No. 2 player in your class to No. 10, almost entirely due to the injury? How tough was the ankle injury as a senior, which forced you to miss a month? Are you 100 percent yet? Do you think you'll ever be 100 percent again?
On, and on, and on.
The Champaign St. Thomas More senior, sitting in 300-level seats overlooking the McDonald's All-American setup at the United Center on Tuesday afternoon, is just happy to be here. Hearing a question about the future, not the past, lights up her face. The excitement of the present -- interacting and competing with her peers -- is also palpable.
Yet most of all, the 6-foot-4 center is primed to contribute her unique skills to another team with lofty aspirations.
"Honestly, I'm just ready to make an impact again," the Ohio State recruit said. "I'm ready to take our program to the Final Four. Talking to the girls (at OSU), it's been great. We talk a lot. We're just ready."
McCoy, whose St. Thomas More team was a Class 2A runner-up in 2013 and 2A champion the next season, was limited to 27 games the past two seasons. Her team reached the sectional finals each year, but were eliminated both times, as the Sabers never had an entirely healthy McCoy to lean on.
Jay Price, a 25-year coaching veteran who was an assistant on Illinois' national title runner-up men's team in 2005, took over at St. Thomas More before McCoy's junior season. The ability was apparent, the headliner was dominant and the repeat chances were overwhelming.
"When I first saw her, I was just blown away by her talent," Price said. "This season, she was probably three quarters of what she's been, and yet she's still a McDonald's All-American. That gives a sense of how good she is and how much people respect her talent."
McCoy is still working through pain in her left knee and right ankle. It's arthritis-related, so there will likely always be pain, but she's getting used to it all: the pain, the concern, the frustration.
"After sitting out my whole junior year with the ACL, I was ready to go this season," she said. "But then with the ankle injury forcing me to sit out again, I started to feel really down on myself. 'Why me?' and all that.
"The injuries suck," McCoy added, laughing. "They do suck. But I'm adjusting. I'll get over it, sooner or later."
At McDonald's practice Monday at Quest Multisport, McCoy was one of the more athletic and physically imposing players. Her natural strength is on the interior -- Price called her "nothing short of dominant" on the block -- but she enjoys playing the up-and-down style of McDonald's events.
Even in halfcourt sets, her athleticism allowed her to switch onto guards and defend on the perimeter. For a player of her size, it's a notable feat.
"(The level of competition here) is kind of intense," McCoy said. "I'm here as a post, and playing against other posts, they're all taller than me. I'm not used to that. So I'm adjusting a little bit, which is hard, but being able to play against them is really fun."
Back in the United Center, a group of McDonald's All-American girls hooted and hollered when McCoy was asked, again, to be interviewed. A shout of "Most popular girl here!" even rang out in the small ballroom.
Thus is the attention that comes with being perhaps the best girls player to ever come from central Illinois. A five-star rating, top-10 ranking, McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-American nods, multiple All-State nominations, state champion. The list goes on.
After all her trials McCoy, more than anything, is ready to build on that resume.
"If she was 100 percent healthy these past two years I do think she would've been the No. 1 player in the country," Price said. "Just from what I saw two years ago, I couldn't believe the kinds of things she could do."
He paused.
"Well, can do."
rmayor@tribpub.com
Tori McCoy file
School: Champaign St. Thomas More
Height: 6-foot-4
College: Ohio State
2015-16 stats: 20.7 points, 8.4 rebounds; 67.2 FG percentage.
