Mackenzie has grown up playing basketball. She played on her first AAU team in Richmond, Indiana at the age of 4. She's been playing ever since. Mackenzie is the best player on the best team in the Sagamore Conference and currently the best team in Hendricks County. This past season she led the 8th grade Danville Lady Warriors to conference and county titles. Danville's incoming freshman girls basketball team went undefeated two years in a row in middle school. An undefeated 7th grade season ended in disappointing fashion when the Lady Warriors lost in the county championship game to Avon South, a team they had beaten by 20 points just a week earlier. Mackenzie said that she and her team picked a bad night to have a bad game. She blamed the loss on overconfidence. "We had just beaten Avon South by 20 points a week earlier. We were overconfident. We thought we had the game won. It was my worst game."
Mackenzie and her team followed their 7th grade season with another undefeated season as 8th graders. They also won the Sagamore Conference Tournament and the Hendricks County Tournament. They dispatched Avon South on their way to the county championship game. It was sweet revenge. Mackenzie is no doubt the best player on her team, but if you ask her, she is very modest about it. "I don't know. I guess," she replies. She does, however, accept the role of leader for her team. She likes to lead by example, through her effort and her play. She is a vocal leader as well, encouraging her teammates, getting on them when necessary and pumping them up on the floor and from the bench. When asked about her teammates Mackenzie said, "I love my teammates." She said they sometimes look to her to do it all when she is in the game, which she doesn't mind and even enjoys. She says, however, that she can't do it all all the time and she has told the rest of the team that they need to step up and play with the same intensity when she is in the game as they do when she is on the bench. "They are good players and very capable," she said. Taylor also attributes their success to the fact that they are all friends on and off the court. This has led to a remarkable team chemistry.
Mackenzie is an accomplished offensive player. She is a combo guard, comfortable at the point or at shooting guard. She scores alot on run outs off of turnovers, but is quick to add, "that's not the only way I score." She is a shooter and a slasher. She can score from the outside, or put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket. She plays strong and her game is stronger. When asked about her scoring average over the past two seasons, she didn't even know what it was. "I don't think anyone ever shared that with me." She did say that she had a high game of 29 points. She has a high of 6 assists. She also has a high of 10 steals. but modestly added, "that probably doesn't count because it was against a really bad team." Taylor is a good defender. She has quick feet and quick hands, and according to her, "aggressive hands." She is a relentless defender, and is usually charged with guarding the other teams best player unless that player is a big. Her job is to create havoc and take the opponent out of their offense and out of what they want to do. She comes up with alot of steals and creates alot of turnovers, which leads to fast break baskets. She enjoys this role, and actually likes playing defense, unlike alot of young players.
When asked what her number one priority is when she steps onto a basketball court, her response is mature, as she is, beyond her years. "I just want to make my teammates better, and I want to improve every time out." Oh, and for the record she also wants to win. She hates to lose. Losing eats at her, sometimes for days. She is very competitive, and the only thing better than winning, is not losing. The only thing she hates more than losing is when her team, or their fans, blames losing on officials or on anything other than themselves. She believes they should take responsibility for themselves and their play. Fortunatley, with one loss in two seasons, she hasn't had to worry too much about that. She loves practice and loves getting better. She likes an organized practice that focuses on drills and skill building, perfecting offense and defense. She loves to work hard. She says, "I don't like practice when all we do is scrimmage." She spends between an hour and two hours a day outside of practice, working on her game.
Mackenzie will be a freshman this coming year at Danville High School. She hopes to play varsity and wants to start. She is off to a good start, playing this summer with the varsity. When I asked her about her goals, the first thing she says is, "I wanna win state." She says their best chance to win it might be her junior season because there are some really good players in the class ahead of her. She said, "Who knows. We might have just as good a chance when we are seniors." She also wants to play in college. She wants to go to Tennessee and play for the best women's coach of all time, Pat Summit, but not necessarily in that order. "I love Pat Summit. Love the way she coaches and relates to her players. She makes every player that plays for her better." She would love to play in the WNBA some day, but said she isn't counting on it. "I want to go to school and get an education so I will have something to fall back on, not just basketball." Mature beyond her years.
When I ask her if she has experienced haters or jealousy, she responds, "Oh sure, but I don't worry too much about it. It makes me mad and then makes we want to work that much harder." Mature beyond her years. Mackenzie Taylor is the perfect combination of old school and new school. She believes the team is more important than the individual. She wants nothing more than to make her teammates better. She wants to improve every day. She likes to lead by example. She hates to lose. She hates blaming losses on anything other than herself or her team's play. She loves practice. She's quick, aggressive and physical. She has an all around game. She's the best player you've never heard of. Mackenzie has a picture of herself in a mirror on her Facebook page. Written across the mirror are the words "Miss Basketball 2015." She says, "I would love to be Miss Basketball, but I just want to make the Indiana All Stars." Mature beyond her years. It may be a little early, but my money is on Taylor. To win state, to make the Indiana All Stars, to be Miss Basketball, to play for Pat Summit at Tennessee. The sky is the limit for Taylor. She can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. And she will do it all while being mature beyond her years. She is the best player you've never heard of. And now you know.
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