Mackenzie thriving back at Lightning after Texas sojourn

Rowan Mackenzie's tenure at Lubbock Christian University has seen him return to the Lakeside Lightning in the NBL1 West looking a player ready and able to start life as a professional, but he has a finals campaign to focus on first.

Mackenzie has long been a rising star who appeared to have a bright future dating right back to when he made his SBL debut with the Lightning as a 17-year-old in 2017.

By 2018 and 2019, he was a key player in the Lakeside team despite still being a teenager and then he went to Lubbock Christian University in Texas where his growth as a player has not only continued, but soared.

He has come back to the Lightning for the last 13 games of this season to help lead them into the finals while putting up 22.1 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds a game to show himself ready to take the leap to the next level in his career.

For now, though, Mackenzie's sole focus is on an elimination final against the Perth Redbacks this Friday night which he hopes the Lightning can win to use as a stepping stone into a memorable playoff run.

Chasing the dream of an NBL opportunity

Lakeside is no strangers to providing young talent to go on and play professionally including in the NBL. You can go back to Liam Rush or Jarrad Prue or in more recent times Daniel Grida, Corey Shervill and Josh Davey, and it wouldn’t surprise that Mackenzie is next on the list.

His time in college at LCU included Mackenzie averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a senior while shooting 53.8 per cent from the field and 43.7 per cent from downtown.

Not only did he put up those impressive numbers, but he developed enormously as a player and person, and now upon returning to the Lightning for this NBL1 West season he looks every bit like a player capable of making the leap to the next level.

Whether that opportunity presents at the Perth Wildcats, elsewhere in the NBL or even if Mackenzie has to look to England, what is clear is that he looks a player ready and able to start his life as a professional to begin living out his dream.

"I'm in my last year to get a DP spot so that's the ultimate short-term goal right now to try and get somewhere there," Mackenzie said. 

"Otherwise dad has a UK background so I might be able to look at doing something over there. But I'm just hoping to play basketball professionally as much as I can, and I feel like I'm capable of that. 

"I've had a lot of great opportunities and have played for some really good teams so now I'm just about trying to get some opportunity at the next level and trying to capitalise on what's given and what's out there to do my best."

Coming back from college experience

The college experience is a vastly different one to anything Mackenzie had experienced back home. The focus of college coaches is on playing in a much more structured environment where players have to stick to their lanes, and do what's instructed of them or else they simply won't play.

While Mackenzie is now enjoying the chance to play with greater freedom back with the Lightning this NBL1 West season, what he learned from being in that environment helped him develop his strengths enormously as did just being in such a full on basketball environment.

"I did four years there at college and really got to develop my game, and I've come a long way just in terms of understanding the game," he said.

"Obviously it's different over there compared to playing in Australia and it's a little bit more physical, and there's a bit more strategy to it. 

"We played a really statistical type of game in college where it was all about looking after the key, and focusing on the little tiny details and trying to win but understanding that every possession is so important. 

"Coming back here, it was good to get into the flow of things and I guess you kind of mature as you play a lot more basketball. Then being on the other side of the world, it definitely speeds things up in the maturity side of things and understanding the game. But just being around basketball every day was awesome and it's really helped me out a lot."

Comparing yourself from before college to now

You only need to watch this 2023 version of Mackenzie for a few possessions to realise how far he has developed as a player and physically from before he first started his college tenure at Lubbock Christian University.

Mackenzie had been developing nicely as a talented guard more than capable of putting points on the board, but he has now returned a much more complete player and a stronger physical specimen ready to play in the big time.

It is reminiscent to when Mackenzie's good friend and fellow Lakeside product Corey Shervill went to St Edward's University and returned to the Lightning someone physically a totally different player, and who has since received NBL opportunities.

Mackenzie will forever be grateful to everyone at LCU that helped him develop in all areas.

"Without selling myself too short, just before I left I was aggressive and stuff, and could get to spots but might not have been that great efficiency wise and understanding what shots to take and not to take," Mackenzie said.

"I think college taught me how to be more on balance and my coaches over there studied Villanova and how they played, and Jalen Brunson with us so we could learn how to stay on balance the whole time. 

"Understanding that and just the tempo of games more by being at college has really helped me a lot. I think I've come a long way for sure and I'm just more confident as well in my abilities I think."

Fitting back in at Lakeside this season

After completing his senior year at LCU, Mackenzie wasted no time fitting right back in at Lakeside once he arrived to play his first game of the season back on May 12 against the Perry Lakes Hawks.

New coach Mike Malat had big plans for Mackenzie to be a key part of the team and to even spend time sharing the point guard duties alongside Kyle Armour, and it's worked out well.

The Lightning have won eight of those 13 games with Mackenzie in the line-up to secure a playoff position with the 23-year-old playing a starring role with 22.1 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds a game.

That included a three-game stretch against the Perth Redbacks, Rockingham Flames and Geraldton Buccaneers where he averaged 30 points, nine assists and three rebounds just to showcase the outstanding all-round and mature player he has now become.

Mackenzie couldn’t be happier with how he's been able to fit back in at his home club under a new coach.

"I think Mike gives me the ultimate green light and he lets me run the offence. I came back and he told me that I would be his point guard so I kind of transitioned into that role, and have been trying to understand where my looks will come from and how to get my teammates involved," he said.

"He has been a great help with that and so have my teammates. It's been super fun and I've got a lot of freedom, there's a lot more possessions per game than in college and I feel like the game is a lot faster over here obviously with the shorter shot clock and everything. It's just a lot of fun and I'm enjoying."

Feeling of Lightning coming into finals

While the Lightning are entering the finals from eighth position having finished the regular season with an 11-11 record, they did win six of the last nine games and come into the post-season with some momentum.

With the scoring punch added by returning import Hayden Brown while having Mackenzie and Kyle Armour in the back court, Josh Davey and Daniel Green up front, and the emerging Max Richards, and experience of Tom Parkinson, Nick Palleschi and Dom Jackson, and it's not your average eighth seed.

That's why Mackenzie and Lakeside are entering Friday's elimination final with the Redbacks at Belmont Oasis confident that anything is possible should they get over that first bump.

"That's the thing, it's just a one-off game as well so it's all about who plays better on the night and from here, it's just about winning four games over the next three weeks so it's anyone's thing from here," Mackenzie said. 

"It's just good that we've put ourselves in a position where we have a chance and we're all really excited about that. All we needed was the opportunity. 

"We didn’t want anything handed to us and that's why we were disappointed with the ending to the Joondalup game because we could have sealed it ourselves, but we ended getting in anyway and Mike's been an eighth seed before in Adelaide. 

"He took his team to the grand final from there so we know anything is possible and we're looking to do the best we can, and get into some hot territory as a team when it matters most."

Welcoming back a gun import for finals

Another impressive aspect of the Lightning being able to secure a finals spot was the fact that they did it without gun import forward Hayden Brown for six of the last seven matches.

He made it back to get some minutes in last Friday night against Mandurah and now Mackenzie can't wait to unleash him fully on the Redbacks in this Friday's elimination final.

"He's an awesome guy. He is awesome to have as a teammate and he's so unselfish, and even when he was out he was coaching from the sidelines and getting around Lakeside," he said.

"But what a weapon for us to bring back in now kind of when we need him the most. Hopefully he can be that bridger that we need to close out some games because we have had a lot of leads, and are just trying to learn how to take care of the ball better and get to our spots to close them out. But it should be awesome having him back, he's a huge addition for us."

Sharing the back court with Kyle Armour

Mackenzie had already had the chance to play alongside, and learn off, veteran point guard Kyle Armour back in the 2019 and 2021 seasons with Lakeside and he's enjoyed connecting back together with him this season.

The pair have been able to share the back court since Mackenzie returned this season too over the last 13 games, and with both being able to fill the role as a one and a two, it's worked out tremendously.

Mackenzie couldn’t be more thankful than to have an experienced teammate like the 291-game star to learn off, develop alongside and then to be lethal together.

"He's the ultimate leader and he's really an unselfish guy, and he never looks for himself as much as he probably should because he's still capable of putting up some big numbers," Mackenzie said.

"He's always been a role model and he went to the same high school as me at Aquinas College so I've always looked up to him. It's really cool to have a couple of years playing under him now where he's really mentored me and helped steer me in the right direction, and he gives me a lot of confidence on the court as well. 

"He comes over to tell me things during the game or telling me what to look for or even what I'm missing or not seeing, and that helps because he can go from the point guard to shooting guard, and we can kind of alternate to get some depth there.

"He's an awesome guy and is really just the glue of our team who holds us together, and holds us accountable. Everyone respects him and he always puts his body on the line for us every night so he's awesome."

Maturing off the court as a result of college

While Mackenzie developed enormously as a basketball player in his time at LCU, moving away from the family home to go and live for four years on the other side of the world in Texas certainly helped him grow up away from basketball quickly as well.

"You miss all the birthday parties for the family, you miss Christmas, Easter and everything that gets celebrated back home, and I've had four straight winters now and haven’t had a summer for four straight years," he said. 

"But that's just standard for anyone that goes to college. No one really talks about it and it's difficult, but you can deal with it if you have a good support base and community which I was really fortunate to have. 

"I had a lot of good people in my corner and my parents are very supportive, and so are Lakeside and they were able to help me in any way they could. It definitely does help you mature a lot faster and makes you become a lot more independent having to do a lot of things by yourself, and figuring some stuff out yourself. It's a really good experience to go through."

How big of a part Lakeside is to your life

Mackenzie and his family will forever have a strong link to not only the basketball at the Lightning, but the community at Lakeside. 

He has spent just about his whole life in and around the community, it's where he has played all of his basketball before and after, and even during his college career, and he'll forever be thankful for that and it will always be his home wherever life takes him in between NBL1 seasons.

"I grew up as a junior at Lakeside and it's an awesome club. I have a lot of memories here, winning a lot of games and losing some games and that's just standard," Mackenzie said.

But as a broader community I just enjoy Lakeside and how involved we can be as athletes in the community and helping the children at Lakeside to help out and give back. 

"That's really where the motto stands about where it's more than a game and it's true that we can give back to the people who give us so much support, and invest so much into us. 

"It's just been really good to be part of and then you have our team as well, and they are all awesome guys. You look down the line and there's no egos, no one is looking only for themselves and it's really fun to be around."