Versatile.
That, in a word, describes Eriel McKee.
McKee has done a little bit of almost everything to help the Morehead State women's basketball team.
A 5-foot-10 junior from Anderson County, McKee has scored 922 career points and counting.
Yet, she says rebounding is what she does best.
Her coaches talk about McKee's ability to quietly lead.
Heading into Wednesday's game against Tennessee Tech, McKee is averaging 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds. For 19 games, she also has 31 assists, 28 steals and 12 blocks.
She recorded her fifth double-double of the season (17 points, 13 rebounds) in Saturday's 80-54 win over Eastern Kentucky. That pushed the Eagles' record to 15-5 overall, 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
"I think Eriel's one of the top players not only on our team, but also one of the top performers in our league," Coach Greg Todd said. "I think her versatility is what separates her. ... We give her the opponent's post, so defensively she has to play very smart. And she's willing to do whatever it takes to help the team.
"I think she's more of a natural 'three' player. That's what she played her freshman year. But due to having more guards than we have posts, for us the last two years, she's been more of a post. Offensively, we use her outside quite a bit. She can go inside."
Not to say that McKee is perfect.
She has struggled in particular with her three-point shot, hitting only 19.7 percent. Overall, she's shooting 38.8 percent from the floor.
"At the beginning of the season, I was a lot better," she said. "Now I feel just kind of laid back and I'm not able to get my shots as much as I want to. But, hopefully, it will come back to me."
That was before Saturday's 8-for-14 shooting effort against EKU.
McKee has been firing extra shots during practice, usually under the watchful eye of assistant coach Abby Jump.
McKee guesses that she first played basketball at 3. That's because she "was always around" the game. Older brother Eric and older sister Erin were ballplayers, coached by dad Charles "Dag" McKee.
Eriel played organized ball as a first-grader.
It wasn't until the sixth grade, though, that she realized she might actually be a special basketball player.
She tried out for her school team and made it. She opted not to follow through and play, though, because her first love at the time was softball. She was versatile in that sport, too, playing shortstop, center field, first base and pitcher.
The following summer, she played on an AAU basketball team and excelled. She realized that maybe her focus should switch sports.
McKee went on to help the Bearcats to three district titles and a regional title, reaching the State Tournament Final Four as a junior. She finished as Anderson County's career scoring leader.
When it came time to pick a college, Murray State expressed interest. McKee visited Pikeville. But her choices boiled down to Morehead or Florida Gulf Coast. The deciding factor was proximity to home - she wanted her family to be able to see her play as often as possible.
Soon after committing, though, the Eagles dismissed Coach Tom Hodges. McKee thought about changing schools.
But when Todd was hired as coach, McKee said to herself "sounds interesting, ... this should be fun."
She hasn't been disappointed.
"He's laid back. He's chilled," McKee said of Todd. "And I like his coaching style - up and down the floor."
McKee also is laid back. Chilled.
A health promotion major who is on schedule to graduate in spring 2018, she says her time away from court and classroom is spent hanging out with teammates or simply staying in her room to watch Netflix. Her favorite show is Grey's Anatomy. She's also a fan of The Food Network.
At home, she has two dogs - Tip, a Jack Russell Terrier, and Duke, a lab - and four, soon to be five, pet lizards.
After graduation, McKee wants to play professional ball overseas. Then, she'd like to return to school and study veterinarian technology.
Her laid back demeanor carries over to the court. Todd describes her as a leader by example, and McKee doesn't disagree.
"I don't really talk that well," she said. "But I feel like if I lead by example, they'll follow."
So far, so very, very good.
Tip-off for Wednesday's game against Tennessee Tech is set for 6 p.m. in Johnson Arena.
