McCarthy, sometimes known as JoJo, was the 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League) Women's Basketball Player of the Year.
McCarthy was born on October 26, 1974,[1] in the village of Orland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
[6][7] Growing up she went to St. Turibius Elementary, and the family lived in a two-bedroom until they could afford to expand it with additional bedrooms.
[8] Her parents, Dan and Linda McCarthy of Orland Park, encouraged all of their kids to be active in high school sports: Lynette ran track; Jenny played softball; and both Amy and Joanne chose basketball.
[3] Dan was a steel plant foreman, who sometimes juggled three jobs to send his children to private Catholic schools.
[9][8] Joanne attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School where she starred in basketball.
[10] Mother McAuley, which was the largest American all-girls school with 1,915 students during McCarthy's senior season, was a volleyball powerhouse.
[11] As a junior, she was a member of the Mother McAuley 1991 girls Class AA state championship team.
[20] During McCarthy's time at UIC, the team had mediocre results: with a cumulative record of 67–74 (40–40 in conference play) and finishes of 5th, 5th, 3rd, 4th and 6th.