Natasha Mack (born November 3, 1997)[1] is an American basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for Oklahoma State University and Angelina College in her native Lufkin, Texas before being drafted by the Sky in the 2021 WNBA draft.
| No. 4 – Phoenix Mercury | |
|---|---|
| Position | Forward |
| League | WNBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 3, 1997 Lufkin, Texas |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lufkin (Lufkin, Texas) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2021: 2nd round, 16th overall pick |
| Selected by the Chicago Sky | |
| Playing career | 2021–present |
| Career history | |
| 2021 | Chicago Sky |
| 2021 | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2024–present | Phoenix Mercury |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editMack was born in Lufkin, Texas.[2] She played for Lufkin High School's basketball team. She was ranked as a four-star prospect after high school and was recruited to play at the University of Houston.[3] However, she left the university shortly afterwards, after feeling burnout, a lack of fit with the team, and tensions at home.[4][3] She returned to Lufkin and worked at a poultry plant, "shearing the wings off of chicken."[4][3]
College career
editA year after graduating from high school and leaving Houston, Mack was recruited by Randy McKelvey, an assistant basketball coach at Angelina College, a local community college in Lufkin. She was initially reluctant to return to basketball, but agreed to do so a few days later.[3] She was selected to a junior-college all-star event after her first season and was named a junior-college All-American and won the NJCAA Player of the Year Award after her sophomore season.[3][2]
After he senior season, she was selected to the Big-12 All-Defensive Team First-Team and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and WBCA Defensive Player of the Year.[5][6][7]
College Statistics
editSource[8]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2017–18 | Angelina College | 31 | 682 | .580 | .333 | .662 | 12.9 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 5.1 | 22.0 |
| 2018-19 | Angelina College | 33 | 791 | .591 | .229 | .645 | 11.6 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 5.5 | 24.0 |
| 2019–20 | Oklahoma State | 27 | 476 | .516 | .125 | .677 | 12.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 17.6 |
| 2020–21 | Oklahoma State | 28 | 554 | .529 | .000 | .634 | 12.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 19.8 |
| Career (Division I Totals) | 55 | 1,030 | .523 | .111 | .653 | 12.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 18.7 |
WNBA
editChicago Sky (2021)
editMack was drafted in the second round of the 2021 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky. She was waived by the Sky on May 13, 2021,[9] but was re-signed by the team shortly afterwards on May 18.[10] Mack went back and forth with signing Hardship Contracts with the Sky until ultimately being let go for the last time in June 2021.[11]
Minnesota Lynx (2021)
editMack signed a 7-Day contract with the Lynx on July 6, 2021.[12]
WNBA career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Chicago | 3 | 0 | 5.3 | .667 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 |
| 2021 | Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 1 year, 2 teams | 4 | 0 | 4.5 | .667 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
References
edit- ^ "Natasha Mack". WNBA.com. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ a b Beames, Caleb (2021-04-15). "Lufkin native Natasha Mack picked by Chicago Sky in WNBA draft". KTRE. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ a b c d e Wright, Scott (March 11, 2021). "'Can't be cutting chicken wings': How Oklahoma State's Natasha Mack became a WNBA prospect". The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ a b Gentry, Dorothy (2021-04-13). "Natasha Mack has one of the most unique stories of any WNBA Draft prospect". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ Wisniewski, Lindsey (2021-04-15). "Natasha Mack could fill Storm's void left behind by Natasha Howard". NBC Sports Northwest. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ "Natasha Mack - 2020-21 - Women's Basketball". Oklahoma State University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ "Oklahoma State's Natasha Mack named 2021 WBCA NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
- ^ "Natasha Mack, 6-4, F, Oklahoma State". aces.wnba.com. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- ^ "Chicago Sky Waive Brittany Boyd-Jones, Alexis Prince, Lexie Brown, Kobi Thornton and Natasha Mack". Chicago Sky. 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
- ^ "Sky Re-Sign Natasha Mack". Chicago Sky. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
- ^ Zimmerman, Kurtis. "The Chicago Sky have waived Natasha Mack. Sierra Campisano has cleared waivers after being waived Tuesday". Twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Minnesota Lynx Sign Rookie Forward Natasha Mack". lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 7 July 2021.