When Adalia McKenzie began her college search, she knew she wanted to go somewhere she could make an impact in the long run. Her high school’s all-time leading scorer and the recipient of the 2021 Minnesota Miss Basketball award, McKenzie had several Power-5 offers and could have gone almost anywhere in the country.
But, as a lifelong underdog, McKenzie was sold on the vision of Illinois. She has since made that dream a reality and played a big role in the program’s turnaround as she competes in her third season in Champaign.
“I wanted to be a part of a program that wasn’t already good and needed to build that success,” McKenzie said. “They talked about bringing in players to start that journey of success and needing to build this program. Why not be a part of that story? The vision of working toward being a successful team, that definitely inspired me.”
I feel like I’ve always been the underdog throughout my career, so I just wanted to keep taking that route.
Growing up Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in suburban Minneapolis, McKenzie started playing basketball in sixth grade, when she made her school’s B team. Playing against and scoring on opposing boys, she earned a spot on A team the following year and never looked back, eventually being invited to play on Park Center High School’s JV team as an eighth grader.
During the early years of her basketball career, McKenzie idolized Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, whose work ethic and Mamba Mentality appealed to her. Spending hours watching his highlights, McKenzie modeled her game after the Lakers legend, and she wore the No. 24 jersey in his honor during her AAU career.
Once she arrived at Park Center, McKenzie was forced to switch numbers, though, as one of her teammates already claimed her coveted No. 24 jersey. Wanting to pick a number as close as possible to the world-famous No. 24, McKenzie took No. 25, a number that is now forever memorialized at Park Center.
