The Lousville Cardinals are having themselves a time this March Madness, a welcome upswing from last year's performance when the team exited early following a loss to TCU. A large part of the team's success can be credited to a sophomore class that has grown by leaps and bounds over their freshman season.
That sophomore class includes Mackenly Randolph, daughter of NBA great Zach Randolph. Mackenly is truly beginning to come into her own, and her performance so far has shown she has what it takes to set herself apart from her famous father and to carve her own path in basketball.
That's no easy feat, and it's one Mackenly is pulling off with ease and grace — at least, that's how it appears from the outside looking in. She has been, as they say, balling out. Mackenly came away from the Cardinals' 72-52 win over Vermont with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
"They're a year older. Then we add Laura and Reyna, who both of them have been very important to us just with how they handle things, their day-by-day," the team's coach Jeff Walz told reporters after the game. "They're seniors. You give Imari more confidence. You give Taj, you give Mack. You know, Elif, for her it was the opportunity to play with the Turkish National Team. She had the opportunity to see how pros work."
Walz also had high praise for Mackenly specifically, and he noted that her consistency has improved vastly year over year.
"She's extremely strong at the post. She does a great job with finishing on post-ups. But at the beginning of the year she wasn't shooting the ball with as much confidence," he explained, "Now that she's been working on it, because she's able to step outside and shoot it, you have to respect that which is now given her also opportunities to post up and she's as good as there is being able to use her body."
Walz also noted that several of his players have resigned with the team for next season, which makes heading into the tournament a lot easier. While he declined to specify who, he noted, "A lot of them have agents, and what's going on now -- it's the same thing in the men's game in football. We're all getting phone calls from kids that are still playing, from the agents going, hey, you know, she's been told she'll get this amount if she stays. Will you give more?"
The transfer portal will continue to be a hot topic as the weeks edge closer to the official open date, which follows the championship game in Phoenix.