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East Metro girls basketball Player of the Year: Minnehaha Academy’s Addi Mack

jace frederick, pioneer press
·5 min read

Minnehaha Academy coach Matt Pryor was going over an opponent’s scouting report last season when then-freshman guard Addi Mack’s hand shot up.

“Actually,” Mack said, “that girl is left-handed.”

“She was like 14 years old at the time,” Pryor said. “To have a 14-year-old that’s a student of the game at the level she’s at, it’s clear how she’s able to translate that to being successful out there on the floor.”

Mack said she’s always trying to “win the mind game.” She thinks she holds a big advantage in that department. She prepares for games like a coach, constantly scouting her opponents and discussing game plans with her coaches. The Redhawks are already a scout-heavy team, and Mack piles onto that.

Pair that knowledge with a deep, diverse skill set, and the result is a sophomore who’s averaging 30 points per game this season and is already north of the 2,000-point total in her varsity career. Mack is the 2023 Pioneer Press girls basketball Player of the Year.

“She’s as consistent a player as I’ve ever coached, and that’s what separates her from a lot of kids. Because there’s a lot of kids out there who can give you a 30-piece in a night,” Pryor said. “said. “But every single night you go out there to be a threat, that’s special.”

That consistency extends to practice. Pryor noted Mack is there every single day, usually one of the first to arrive and last to leave. Even Monday – two days ahead of Minnehaha Academy’s Class 2A quarterfinal against New London-Spicer at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Williams Arena – Mack sprinted down the bleachers and into the locker room after completing media obligations.

Not two minutes later, she was changed back into her practice gear and had joined her teammates in warm-up stretches.

The guard skips no steps. Mack is always looking for an edge. It’s why she’s taken to weight lifting in search of more strength. Mack remembers what it was like to be the 5-foot-nothing seventh-grader going up against high school seniors en route to Division I universities.

Now at 5-foot-8, Mack concedes she’ll never be the biggest or the strongest, but every ounce of strength adds to her game. A sharpshooter dating back to her early days, Mack is also now adept at getting to the bucket and finishing through contact. She has a full bag of tricks that includes an NBA-range 3-point shot to a left-handed floater. Mack’s abilities have Pryor constantly redefining what exactly qualifies as a “bad shot.”

“I just feel like I’m really quick, and that makes me unpredictable. I put in lots of work on my ball handling and my shooting and everything that comes along with that,” Mack said. “So I just think I’m really multi-level. I can do a little bit of everything, which helps.”

That extends to her entire game. Beyond scoring, Mack enjoys finding open teammates on offense or taking a charge on defense. Mack enjoys the defensive end of the floor. She recalled a play in the second half of the Redhawks’ Section 4 championship win over St. Croix Lutheran where she took a charge, a play she said changed the game’s momentum.

“(Defense is) something everybody can get excited about and it’s something you do as a team,” Mack said. “It’s not an individual going to score, it’s a really big team concept, and when it’s working, it’s really fun.”

The enjoyment of team success is what pried Mack away from her first sport – swimming – and attracted her to basketball.

That willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed is why she’ll participate in her third state tournament this week.

“I’m a really competitive person – I like to win,” the guard said. “But I like to win for other people, too.”

And she’d like her still relatively inexperienced Redhawks team to surprise a few people and win the state’s ultimate prize this week, too.

“I think me just trying to get people to understand how much of an honor it is to play at a state tournament and how special that is, and also come in with a mentality that we’re not just happy to be in the state tournament – we want to win the state tournament,” Mack said. “I think we just have to look at it one game at a time, but it’s an opportunity to show everybody in the state that Minnehaha is a state championship team.”

So long as the Redhawks have Mack, they know they have a chance.

“She’s going to show up; she’s going to lead — and to have an anchor like that on the team, it instills the other kids with a lot of confidence,” Pryor said. “Because you know night in, night you, Addi Mack is going to be there for you. And when you’ve got a leader like that to turn to, I think that empowers a lot of other girls.”

Finalists

Emily Christenson, senior guard, East Ridge: Senior guard averaged 16 points a game this year while leading East Ridge to a Suburban East Conference crown.

Laura Hauge, senior guard, St. Croix Lutheran: St. Thomas commit is a sharpshooter from deep who powered the Crusaders to a top-five ranking in Class 2A

Lexi Karlen, senior forward, Stillwater: A consistent double-double threat, the Minnesota-Duluth commit has the Ponies back at state.

Finley Ohnstad, junior forward, Lakeville South: Kansas State commit averaged 15 points per game. Lengthy wing with a strong jumper and ability to score at every level.

Trinity Wilson, junior forward, Lakeville North: 6-foot-3 forward saved her best for sections, where she averaged 22 points per game to lead the Panthers to state.

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