April 3, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Celebrating the legacies of Reese and Holmes
By The Next
Reflections on the legendary careers of Angel Reese and Mackenzie Holmes, and glimpses of the future with Lauren Betts and Raegan Beers
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Howard Megdal discusses the legacy of Angel Reese and all she will leave behind as she officially makes her departure to the WNBA. Howard also dives into the legacy of Mackenzie Holmes at Indiana, and analyzes the futures of UCLA and Oregon State through phenoms Lauren Betts and Raegan Beers, respectively.
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
Howard opens the show by discussing Angel Reese, through the lenses of teammates Flau’jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith. In response to Howard’s question about the type of leadership Reese brought to the team, Johnson showers Reese in accolades and attempts to correct some of the media’s depictions of her. “She’s the type of teammate that’s gonna make you believe in yourself,” Johnson says. “The leap that I took from my freshman and sophomore year, Angel gave me that confidence … just to see how the media ridicules her … how they like to twist it … y’all don’t know Angel.” Van Lith jumps in after Johnson, stating that “Angel is one of the toughest people I’ve ever been around.” People “speak hate into her life,” Van Lith says, “but it does not affect her.”
Howard then takes some time to reflect on his own perception of how the media has treated Angel. The conclusion he comes to? It’s been unfair. “Angel Reese doesn’t have to do it the way you do it,” Howard asserts. “Angel is doing it her own way. She is unapologetically herself … she is doing important things in this world of women’s basketball and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
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Howard then moves onto discussing another legendary career that ended just recently – Mackenzie Holmes for the University of Indiana. “Anyone who knows me knows I love being a Hoosier,” Holmes said tearfully at the conclusion of the team’s last game of the year on Friday, March 29 when they were eliminated by the South Carolina Gamecocks. “I pray that every student athlete gets to feel the way I felt about this school.” When Howard has a chance to ask head coach Teri Moren about the team’s continuity, she answered by describing how “close and connected” the team is, both on and off the floor. “We are blue collar, we play with a chip … people give us an underdog role … but it didn’t bother us. We just show up every day, and we’re going to be aggressive, and work hard, and practice together.”
Listen to Howard dive deep into the futures of UCLA and Oregon State through stars Lauren Betts and Raegan Beers, and more, by listening to the episode below! And make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball and basketball history.
