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Reunited: The McKay and Layer Connection
By Vincent Briedis
 When
Liberty Head Men’s Basketball Coach Ritchie McKay first
started to feel that the Flames’ head coaching job was coming
to fruition, he immediately thought of an old friend who would
be a perfect fit on his new staff.
The friend on McKay’s mind was Dale Layer, who had spent the
last seven seasons as the head coach at Colorado State. While
in Fort Collins, he had led the Rams to the 2003 Mountain West
Conference Championship and a narrow defeat to Duke in the
NCAA Tournament. The university at the conclusion of the
2006-07 season though, informed Layer they were going a
different direction and not bringing him back.
“I instantly asked Dale if he would join me again in Virginia
now that his time with Colorado State was over,” said McKay.
“He said he would consider it, but all I could think was that
it wasn’t going to happen, it wasn’t going to happen.”
Flashing back 18 years is where this story truly begins. The
lifelong friendship between these two men goes back to 1989,
when a young McKay was hired as an assistant coach at Queens
College in Charlotte, N.C., by Layer. “We were connected
through a mutual friend with whom he had been working, said
Layer. “He thought I was looking for a person like Ritchie. It
was an easy hire because Ritchie is passionate about
basketball, an energetic person and a hard worker with great
vision and understanding for the game.”
The job was McKay’s first full-time coaching job, and even
though it was only one season before he moved onto his alma
mater at Seattle Pacific in 1990, there was an unbreakable
bond formed between the two men. “We have remained very close
since our days at Queens College,” commented Layer. “He would
baby sit my kids and before his wife Julie and he were
married, she would stay with us in Charlotte. We have such
strong ties.”
The ties were such that eight years later, when McKay took the
head coaching job at Colorado State, he thought immediately of
Layer. So Layer packed up his family and moved to Fort
Collins, Colo., to assist McKay with the Rams’ program. “It
was a great move for me professionally but it was hard move
for my family,” stated Layer. “We did not have many ties in
Colorado and we had to uproot three kids from schools and
neighborhoods.”
The moved proved to be a great one for Layer, however, as he
helped McKay take the Rams to the Elite Eight in the 1999 NIT.
When McKay left for Oregon State in 2000, Layer was awarded
the head coaching position.
Layer enjoyed a successful run at Colorado State averaging, 15
wins a year while competing in a very talented Mountain West
Conference with the likes of Air Force, BYU, New Mexico, San
Diego State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming. Each of those teams made
at least one trip to the NCAA Tournament during his tenure
with the Rams.
The university then let Layer go at the end of the 2007 season
despite his 17-13 record and non-conference wins against the
likes of Boise State, Kansas State, Colorado and Chattanooga.
The move ended up being a huge gain for the Flames because a
week to the day after McKay was announced as the seventh head
coach in Liberty men’s basketball history two friends were
reunited on Liberty Mountain when Layer accepted the assistant
position on April 2. “I am so honored Dale decided to join us,
and he has been a tremendous blessing for me and our program,”
commented McKay.
The admiration each man has for each other is remarkable. “I
am very selective of the people I work with or for,” said
Layer. “Ritchie is one of those guys who is a terrific person,
a great family man and a tremendous coach. There aren’t many
people like that in our profession, and I am honored to work
with him.”
“Dale’s integrity, experience, coaching ability and the way he
works with guys individually is a tremendous asset,” noted
McKay. For us to have someone of his stature help develop our
young people and develop our program is priceless.”
There is no doubt Layer can find and develop players. One such
player is former Colorado State center Jason Smith. The
seven-footer, who was very raw coming out of high school,
scored over 1,500 points for Layer’s Rams during the past
three seasons. Due to his development under Layer’s tutelage,
Smith was chosen with the 20th selection of the NBA Draft's
first round by the Miami Heat. Moments after the selection,
the Heat traded the rights to Smith to the Philadelphia 76ers
in return for the rights to Ohio State freshman guard Daequan
Cook.
Layer’s transition to Liberty has been very smooth. Not only
is Layer familiar with McKay but also fellow assistant Brad
Soucie who has been at every step of McKay’s head coaching
career, including Colorado State. Even though the Layer family
must uproot and move once again, it has become a good spot
with relatives in Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee and good
friends located in North Carolina.
For Layer, who is the son of a coach and got his start in
coaching by taking a job as a janitor so he would have
afternoons off, is part of a great college basketball story.
Two high-profile coaches who have worked together on two
previous occasions now are reunited in the city of Lynchburg,
nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, next to the
historic James River and at a place that is a sleeping giant
in college basketball.
“Liberty has terrific potential,” commented Layer. “The
facilities are first class, the support level is great and
it’s a part of the country which values basketball.”
It’s a new era in Liberty Basketball. |
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