Though born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McCoy was raised in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Detroit's Northwestern High School and was the first Detroit public school student who went on to be named a college basketball All-American. He played three years as a varsity basketball player at Michigan from 1927 to 1929. As a sophomore in 1927, McCoy scored 80 points and played on a 14–3 Big Ten Conference championship team along with Bennie Oosterbaan (130 points) and Edward Harrigan (153 points). The 1928 team finished in fifth place place but has the distinction of having three of the five starters (McCoy, Oosterbaan, and Bill Orwig) having gone on to be successful coaches and athletic directors at major college programs. McCoy was named captain of Michigan's 1929 basketball team, and as cap