South Carolina fans are very familiar with BJ McKie.

The former Gamecock helped win a SEC title in 1998 and finished the school's all-time leading scorer with his No. 3 jersey retired and hanging in the rafters at Colonial Life Arena.

After 10 years playing professional basketball, McKie's spent the last nine years in the coaching ranks with six seasons at Charleston Southern and the previous three as an assistant at East Tennessee State under Steve Forbes.

With the season over, GamecockCentral spent some time talking with McKie about this year, his transition to coaching and his time at South Carolina.

GC: You guys finished 30-4 and locked up a NCAA tournament spot by winning the Southern Conference tournament. When did you guys get the idea this could be a special group?

BM: “We knew. We took an overseas trip and took the foreign tour trip. We knew when we played we had the potential to be a special unit putting the pieces together and making sure guys were healthy throughout the course of the year. You battle injuries, but we felt like we had a special unit with the pieces we had as far as the depth we had, good guard play. We had size and experience. Our guys battled throughout the course of the year. One of our better players got injured for the better part of 14 or 15 games, Jeromy Rodriguez. We missed him but we didn’t miss a beat. Our guys banded together and they refused to lose throughout the course of the year.”

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GC: How much fun did that make this team to be around?

BM: “It was fun, man. That will be one of my all time teams ever. Being around those guys, they were good locker room guys. They didn’t present any problems off the floor, which is good when you’re a coach. We had good leadership on the team. I’ll keep saying it, but it was an all-time special group that we had.”

GC: How sad did that make it for you guys when the tournament was canceled?

BM: “I mean, during that week when we got done with our tournament, that whole week is supposed to be fun practicing and getting ready for Selection Sunday and we got that pulled from underneath us. Originally everybody—myself in particular—was thinking, ‘Why are they doing this?’ But when you understand the severity of people losing their lives and everything, it makes you take a step back and process there’s more to life than sports in general.”

GC: You guys went to LSU and beat the Tigers 74-63. Did that take you back to your days at South Carolina?

BM: “A little bit, but it was more so when we were playing LSU we felt like we were the best team on the floor. That was from the very start of the opening tip. That’s the way our guys thought. That’s what they were thinking: we were going to come in there and really try to make a statement. That was a big time statement game for us. They went in with full confidence and played one of our better games all year.”

GC: You just finished year nine of coaching and year three at East Tennessee. What made you want to get into coaching?

BM: “Really the coaches and mentors I had when I was growing up. I think I probably decided I wanted to coach during my time at South Carolina. I wanted to stay around the game and make a difference in young men’s lives. It’s been great. It’s been the next best thing close to playing ball.”

GC: What was it like giving up playing and making the jump to the coaching ranks?

BM: “It’s scary. It’s scary when the crowd stops cheering and you’re out on your own. You’re used to certain things given to you like the house overseas or you’re getting your books in place when you’re in college and them setting things up for you. That’s the biggest thing to get adjusted to you when you get finished playing basketball in general. It's a scary situation. You already know it’s hard to get in the game of coaching because there are so many slots. It’s scary for me to finally be on my own. My wife was in my corner 100 percent and my family was behind me of obtaining the dream I had. I was lucky to get in a situation at Charleston Southern with Barclay Radebaugh, who was an assistant coach at South Carolina when I was there. I was able to get that opportunity.”

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GC: What were some of the biggest challenges in the first few years at Charleston Southern?

“One of the biggest struggles I had was toning down the talent I was looking at. I was still looking at high-major players when I was recruiting. Coach was like, ‘BJ, we’re not getting that player.’ I’m like, ‘Why can’t we get him?’ That was one of the biggest things for me to tone down and have an eye for talent at the low-major, mid-major. That first or second year, you’re green. He gave me the reigns. He said I’m going to go out and make certain mistakes. You just have to learn from those mistakes and fight your way through it. Playing and coaching are completely different. You learn from early on, you learn how to do a scouting report, what goes into a scouting report, how you go into a practice and put plays in and press offense and press defense. There are stages you have to do. That’s something I had to learn along the way.”

GC: Who were the biggest mentors for your career?

BM: “I was fortunate to have a lot of great coaches, man. I don’t want to leave anybody out. From when I played B-team basketball to high school with one of the legends in the state of South Carolina in coach (Tim) Whipple. Then being under coach (Eddie) Fogler, who was under Dean Smith in their tree. Then even some of the coaches I had overseas. I try to implement everything from what I learned from those guys and coach Radebaugh and coach Forbes now. I’m trying to take all the things in and combine it. I’ve been fortunate to have great guys and great mentors along the way.”

GC: You obviously played at Irmo and committed to South Carolina. What was that transition like?

BM: “It was a great transition because coach Whipple prepared us for college basketball. You still have to get used to the physicality of playing against athletes every day in college. On the college level you’re playing against Mr. Basketballs that are coming off the bench at the high-major level. Coach prepared us for pretty much everything. Coach Whipple prepared us for everything and the transition. People always ask about what it was like to have all that weight on your shoulders to try and propel South Carolina to the national spotlight. I didn’t ever feel any pressure as far as doing that. all I wanted to do was have fun and give my all on the floor everyday. I played with some great teammates on the way that were able to propel us to national rankings several years and a SEC Championship.”

GC: A lot of people remember you and that 1997-98 SEC Championship year, what do you remember about it?

BM: “It was up and down early on. I remember when we were 5-5 and struggling just to find ourselves and find our identity and really play together as a team. we just had a players’ only meeting and vented out. we really came together after that players’ meeting. We went on a roll and just gained a lot of confidence, had confidence in each other, had each other’s back. We got on a roll and started playing really well. It was one of those special-type seasons you won’t ever forget.”

GC: How often do you get asked about it?

BM: “They always talk about it. that was one of the first SEC championships in South Carolina history. They always talk about it and guys always rag me when the NCAA tournament comes up and an upset’s about to happen and they put South Carolina losing to Coppin State up there with five or six others. They always give me hell with that. even some of the players today are like, ‘Man, y’all were a two-seed and lost to a 15-seed?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, it happens. It’s possible.’ Through the course of the year, you had your highs and lows but it didn’t take away what we accomplished as a team.”

GC: Now that you bring it up, what goes through your head about that Coppin State game?

BM: “I just laugh about it now. I was like, ‘Man, we had a great season. I can’t believe we lost that game.’ But any time you roll that ball out, anything’s possible. Anything can happen. I haven’t ever looked at that game, by the way. I’ve never looked at it and won’t ever look at it. I don’t want to (relive it).”

GC: When you look at your career, what memory sticks out the most?

BM: “Probably when I got my jersey retired. I reflected on what I accomplished. You hear guys say all the time you only truly appreciate it or reflect on things when it’s over and you look back on it. Having my teammates there and having my coaches there and having all my family and friends there, it was a special moment. A truly special moment.”

GC: In 2017, what was it like watching your alma mater and son, Justin, go on the Final Four run?

BM: “It was a surreal moment to know we reached the Final Four. They struggled before going to the tournament. They lost like seven out of 10 games before the tournament. Just to see that team come together and see the way they started to play and the momentum they got and the confidence they got when they beat Duke to go to the Sweet 16. I was looking at the bracket and was telling my wife we match up well with these teams. In the Sweet 16 you had Baylor and then Florida. Baylor was athletic but didn’t shoot it well. We already beaten Florida and they beat us. It was a 50-50 game if we played really well on a neutral floor. To see my son with what he battled through the first two to two and a half years with injuries and not getting that much playing to becoming a leader on and off the floor and a sixth or seventh man off the bench and contributing, I felt really proud of that team and of him. They battled through adversity. People were saying they weren’t any good and giving Frank hell with what he was doing. Really it was about coming together. That's just part of life facing adversity, and they faced it head on and achieved a lot. It was fun ride.”

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GC: What's your relationship like with Frank Martin?

BM: “I always follow South Carolina basketball. I’ve always followed them. I followed them after I graduated. I followed them obviously and got to come to some games when Justin was playing. I’m not fortunate enough now because I’m three hours away to come to game but I still look at them on TV when they’re on TV. I still have a good relationship with Frank. We talk, whether it be about basketball or life in general. We don’t talk every other day, but when we pick up the phone and he calls me or I call him it’s just like we never left the conversation. One thing about Frank that people don’t understand and not a lot of college coaches do it: he’s there for his kids even after they graduate, and I applaud him for that.”

GC: You're obviously in a good situation at ETSU, but what are your ultimate goals in coaching?

BM: “I would love to be a head coach at my own program. I don’t know what level, but I would love to be a high-major head coach one day. That's what I aspire to do. I’m in a great situation right now working for a tremendous boss right now. Who knows what the future holds. That’s my goal.”

GC: Now's your chance. I'm giving you some time on the record to give us as much grief for putting you as a nine seed in our bracket.

BM: “I can’t believe I was a nine seed, regardless of if it’s women or men. But you get older, people forget about what you did on the floor sometimes. It’s all in fun man. I appreciate it, I appreciate you and how you cover Gamecock athletics. You guys do a tremendous job.”