McKenzie Mathurin has not yet carved out a significant role on the women’s college basketball team at the University of Michigan. She and her mother are choosing to trust the process.
They know that success does not always come overnight.
The Mathurin family presents a refreshing outlook on women’s college basketball (and life) in an era of collegiate athletics where instant gratification is often more important than development. Hard work and patience is hard to come by.
Who is McKenzie Mathurin?
As a native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Mathurin was rated as a four-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2025. She committed to Michigan over Alabama as the eighth-ranked player at her position and the 35th-ranked player overall.
The 5-foot-10 shooting guard was expected to play a big role for the Wolverines as a true freshman but it has not quite worked out that way thus far.
Michigan is ranked No. 9 in the country at 17-3 but McKenzie Mathurin has only played 12.1 minutes per game in 14 games. A concussion kept her off of the court in the beginning of December and she has not yet cracked the starting lineup.
This is normal.
Not every true freshman becomes an immediate impact player. The transition from high school to college takes time. There is often an adjustment period. There simply may not be room in the lineup.
Some athletes cannot handle the adversity. Especially today, with social media, NIL and the transfer portal. They express frustration with their current situations on the internet, enter the transfer portal and go play elsewhere on a team that will guarantee playing time.
Other athletes choose to work even harder, to earn their time on the floor. It appears as though Mathurin is one of them.
Michigan women’s basketball’s highly-touted freshman is working hard to get on the floor.
At no point this season has McKenzie Mathurin complained about her role with the Wolverines. She continues to prepare as a starter for each and every game and she is ready when called upon.
The first-year shooting guard is averaging 5.1 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.7 steals during her 12 minutes per game, shooting 46% from the field. That is a tangible impact.
Mathurin is putting in the work to get to where she need to be. Her mother, Amber, shared the following post on social media after her daughter played only two minutes in a win over USC on Sunday.
Some people saw her post as a shot at the coaching staff. Why won’t they play McKenzie even though she continues to do all of the right things?! Doesn’t my daughter deserve to play?!
That is not the case. It is not a shot.
“Let’s be very clear – Kenz is getting solid time as a freshman. She is just winning this battle of mindset and extra work to buy her court time. This post was no deeper than saying – coming off the bench is a skill for so many athletes! U have to be ready the entire game and that’s not possible if you don’t put the work in.”
Mathurin and her mother are bucking the trend. They know the challenges that come with women’s college basketball. They know how to work hard. It is so refreshing to see this mindset.