WOODVILLE — Tramel McKinsey has been involved in two turnarounds this season at Wilkinson County Christian School.

After hardly winning any games in football or basketball in the 2010-2011 school year, the Rams’ football and boys basketball teams have seen big success under head coach Ray McDaniel.

And McKinsey has played a big role for the Rams in both sports, particularly in basketball, in which he averaged a double-double per game, 14 points and 10 rebounds. Being good at both scoring and rebounding, McKinsey was selected as The Natchez Democrat’s All-Metro player of the year because of these accolades.

With him being good at both scoring and rebounding, McKinsey said there isn’t one aspect of the game that’s more important than the other.

“Both are important,” McKinsey said. “You need rebounds to get to offense, and you need points to win. If you can’t find any points, you can’t win.”

McKinsey played primarily inside the paint for the Rams this season, and he said his strong and explosive play is what allowed him to excel down low.

“It comes natural for me,” he said. “You can’t go soft in the paint, you have to go strong, make a move, make a shot.”

When it comes to rebounding, McKinsey said there’s more to it than just a vertical leap.

“You have to box out and get in position. You can’t just out-jump the person,” McKinsey said.

For McDaniel, the turnaround job he started in football carried over into basketball. The Rams (21-6) won their district and got to the second round of the MAIS Class A state tournament before losing to eventual state champion Tri-County Academy.

Having already gotten All-Metro coach of the year in football, McDaniel adds a coach of the year title his job with basketball this past season.

“Between football, basketball and baseball, we won five games last year,” McDaniel said. “We passed that halfway through the football season, and we only won two games in basketball last year.”

McDaniel credits his athletes for taking the winning attitude form football over to basketball.

“They got used to winning and liked it,” McDaniel said. “Ethan Carruth, Tramel and Trenton Hall, all three seniors, had really good years. It was the best they’ve had at WCCA.”

McKinsey also complimented McDaniel’s ability as a coach.

“He’s a good coach. He made me a better player throughout my year here,” McKinsey said.

But behind every great man is a woman, and McDaniel credited his wife Brandi for doing an excellent job as his assistant coach and head basketball coach for the girls’ squad.

“It was a fun trip to have her here with me,” McDaniel said. “She helped me a lot, and she’s a great coach to glean from.”