Competitiveness Fuels Holmes’ All-America Rise
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Shy? Mackenzie Holmes? Is that right?
Was this Indiana basketball All-America senior forward, a fixture on every pre-season awards list, in the conversation for greatest-player-in-program-history designation and poised under the bright media spotlight and major college acclaim, really once adverse to attention?
Darn straight.
“I was,” she says with a smile. “Sometimes, I think Coach (Teri) Moren wishes I’d go back in my shell.”
Not exactly. Moren appreciates how far Holmes has come from her arrival in Bloomington in 2019, when she was a highly touted prep player far from her Maine home and family.
“The best part of my job is watching our players come in as freshmen and seeing their transformation and evolution as players and as people,” Moren says.
“Mack has been such a great story in terms of when she came here, she couldn't give anybody eye contact. She was very shy and timid. I think it wasn't until halfway through the Big Ten season her freshman year when she started becoming a little bit more confident that she could play at this level.”
Confidence came from success, maturity and acclimation.
“It took me a while to warm up to everybody,” she says. “I was a kid 1,000 miles from home. It took some getting used to.”
Holmes got used to it in a big way, and it starts from a relentless drive common among those who excel.
“It’s my competitiveness,” she says. “I’ve always had this feeling that someone else is working harder than me. It’s always been in me to do that extra work. Once you do it, it becomes part of who you are.”
It’s easy to talk about doing extra. Only the best do it.
“I know I’ll do extra basketball before practice,” Holmes says. “I’ll do extra conditioning. It becomes part of your routine. Knowing all those extra reps will make a difference in the long run and give me confidence.”
The 6-3 Holmes doesn’t wow with elite athleticism as much as effort, will and mental toughness.
“She's one of the hardest workers I've ever played with and been around,” says senior guard Sydney Parrish. “She's always in the gym, whether that's extra conditioning, extra lifting, extra workouts, making sure her body is healthy, being in the training room.”
Moren has built a powerhouse program with do-extra players. Holmes reflects the best of that.
“I don't know in her wildest dreams if she ever thought she could become the All-American that she's become here,” Moren says. “You only do that one way and that's to get in here and do your work every day.”
Holmes and associate head coach Rhet Wierzba have had a long-standing workout plan designed to improve her skills and fitness.
“There's no such thing as off days for Mackenzie,” Moren says. “She should be proud of herself. I know I'm extremely proud of her for the player that she's become, for the person that she's become, and how she's gone about her work.
“She's a pure example that there's no secret sauce to any of it. It's what your habits are every day.”
Holmes and former Hoosier standout guard Grace Berger, now with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, epitomized that work-hard example that has helped turn the Hoosiers into a national title contender.
“I think Mack’s legacy will be one that Grace Berger left us,” Moren says. “How you build this is by coming in and wanting to do the work, wanting to be passionate about the work, wanting to be passionate about this place in helping us be successful. Whatever that looks like, whatever it takes, they'll do.”
Last season, Holmes averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. She shot a school-record and Big Ten-leading 68 percent from the field. She also became IU’s first-ever women’s Big Ten defensive player of the year as well as its first three-time first-team All-American.
But Holmes’ impact goes way beyond numbers and All-America accolades. Parrish, an outstanding player in her own right, speaks to that.
“She is a very special player. I'm excited to see how she plays this year. We couldn't be more grateful to have her on the court for another year.”
With 1,897 career points, Holmes has a chance to surpass Tyra Buss (2,364) as IU’s all-time scoring leader. She will quickly pass the other two players ahead of her, Karna Abram (1,910) and Denise Jackson (1,917).
Moren, a fierce supporter of all her players, can’t wait to see that.
“Nobody is going to be cheering for her harder than I will be.”
Beyond scoring, Holmes’ 208 career blocks are second in program history to Quacy Barnes’ 269. She ranks eighth in career rebounds with 774. Jackson leads with 1,273.
But it’s the leadership Holmes and Berger showed in previous seasons, and now Holmes for this season, that inspires veterans Parrish, Sara Scalia, Chloe Moore-McNeil, Yarden Garzon, Lexus Bargesser, Henna Sandvik, Arielle Wisne and Lilly Meister, as well as newcomers Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, Julianna LaMendola and Lenée Beaumont.
Parrish and Scalia arrived as college transfers last season, Parrish from Oregon, Scalia from Minnesota. Currie-Jelks is a transfer from UT-Martin.
“They set the foundation for me and Sara who came in as transfers last year,” Parrish says. “We're lucky that our staff and those players built it. It's been fun to be part of such a special group and a special program.”
The Hoosiers once again have national championship aspirations, fueled by eight straight 20-win seasons, highlighted two Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight appearance in recent years.
They are picked to finish second in the Big Ten to follow up last season’s conference regular-season championship, their first in 40 years.
“I think we’re close every year,” Holmes says about winning a first women’s national title to join the five won by the men’s program. “We have the pieces every year. It’s just putting it together. It’s possible for us.”
Adds Scalia: “It's something really special to be a part of. What we do here is not like many other schools. We put in the work to get to where we have been. It's not just lucky that we win that many games a year.”
IU’s title chances rest in part on keeping Holmes healthy. She was banged up in last season’s NCAA tourney, a factor in Indiana’s second-round loss to Miami of Florida. She’s battled injuries during her career, which is why Moren talks about managing Holmes’ minutes to ensure she’s healthy for a postseason run. Bringing in the 6-2 Currie-Jelks should help.
“We need another post player to take some of those reps away from Mackenzie,” Moren says. “The last two years, Mack has battled some injuries down the stretch. We’re going to have to protect Mack as well as we can in practices, long practices.”
The Hoosiers have plenty of momentum from last season’s historic run, when they went 28-4 with a top-5 national ranking.
“It’s knowing we can build off that,” Holmes says. “We want to hit the ground running."
IU will have to with a Nov. 12 trip to national power Stanford.
“We want to win championships," Holmes says. "That’s always the goal. End the season knowing we gave everything we have. Leaving nothing on the floor and having no regrets.”