Hofschild Feeling Right at Home
With freedom to play her style, guard and Rams are revitalized
Mike Brohard
McKenna Hofschild has found a home. That doesn’t mean she’s all moved in yet.
There are boxes to unpack, spaces to explore. The place isn’t completely decorated yet, but really, it’s not just about the place, but the people with whom you share the space.
“This is I think the place I’ve always been meant to be at,” said Colorado State’s point guard for the women’s basketball team. “Coming here and being part of this team, it’s not just a team, it’s a home and a family and these are sisters to me.”
As a transfer, the idea is not just to find a team, but a place where you fit. CSU coach Ryun Williams knew about Hofschild as a high school player, and the Rams had taken a look at her in the club circuit as she played for the Minnesota Fury, and also knew she set a state record by scoring 63 points in a prep game. But he and his staff had also been told she was eyeing a Power 5 school, so nothing serious ever developed.
She chose Seton Hall out of Prior Lake, Minn., but it just didn’t feel right for her there. That’s why finding a home was so important. At home, you are allowed to be your true self, among people who understand you. Folks who appreciate your strengths and aid you in correcting weaknesses.
They understand and accept you for who you are. That just wasn’t happening for her last year, as she played in 18 games, all in a reserve role.
Admittedly, Williams didn’t see much of Hofschild a year ago; he had his own team to worry about, but when it came time to reconstruct this roster, he started asking questions of the people he trusted, coaches who had seen her play.
The advice of a former assistant coach: Don’t be stupid and not take her.
“His exact words,” Williams said.
So the Rams went in pursuit, full-court press style. Her game is a blend of speed and scoring, both elements the Rams needed in fairly equal parts. Each was important, and the speed element was crucial, but Williams needed both.
“That was the main thing, but two things. The speed and pace of play, we surely wanted to play faster,” he said. “But the scoring. That was probably more important to us than the speed. This is a scoring point guard, and that’s where we’ve obviously had some problems the past couple of years. That was a huge priority, and you don’t get transfers who can score it like that very often.
“We knew she would score, and even after watching her the first week of workouts, you could tell. She has a scoring mentality, and we are not surprised by this.”
This being her 14.5 points per game average, and the fact she scored 20-plus in a pair of games Colorado State split with UNLV over the weekend, earning her Mountain West player of the week honors. Oh, she also leads the conference in assists per game (6.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.07).
I was looking for a place I could come and be 100 percent myself, feel comfortable and just be confident in the player that I am and the person I am.McKenna Hofschild, Point Guard
In Hofschild, Williams added exactly the player he wanted.
He needed a point guard to run the show, score in a way it wasn’t an afterthought and make everybody around her better. It seems like a big ask for a newcomer, but that also depends on the newcomer.
To Hofschild, it was the perfect housewarming gift.
“I think Coach Williams has believed in me since day one, and to have a coach who fully supports me and has my back is just the best thing,” Hofschild said. “For him to kind of give me that leeway and let me know he’s got my back and I’m able to lead this team, that means everything.
“This what I’ve been looking for the whole time, so to have him really say these things and mean them, that’s just the best.”
There is no greater gift from a coach than the one of freedom to play your game, as guard Tori Williams knows so well. In fact, the arrival of Hofschild has granted the same freedom to both players, a release Tori didn’t have last year. She’s a true shooting guard, but she was needed to run the point a year ago, and while she had a solid year, she never really was set free.
Now, with Hofschild taking most of the burden of pushing the pace and bringing the ball up court, Tori is able to work off screens and find her space to drive and dish to the tune of a team-leading 14.6 points per game and leads the MW with 3.3 3-pointers per game. She’s also third in turnover-to-assist ratio at 2.58.
In some ways, it’s hard to tell who is happier about Hofschild taking up residence.
Hofschild is having fun, so she has a solid claim. Coach Williams isn’t feeling as miserable, so he thinks it may be him.
Wrong.
“Probably us,” Tori said, referring to the team as a whole. “We have a true point guard, and Kenna definitely brings energy to our team and makes our team play at a faster pace. But also when she walks into a room, she’s just super bubbly. She’s always just the positive person on the team, and it’s fun being around her.
“I mean, basketball is really about playing the sport you love. When you get to college, some things change. But playing under Coach Williams is a big blessing, because we’re able to play to our strengths. He respects what we do, and that’s why he recruits us. We have the freedom to do what we want to do, and that’s the best thing a coach can do for his players.”
Hofschild is, in some ways, the goofy little sister. She is 5-foot-4, but when she walks into the weight room, she immediately flexes and announces she’s a big body who is ready to throw around big lifts. These types of outbursts have made her and Tori fast friends – Yin and Yang, they call themselves
The relationship wasn’t immediate, but it is strong, and the Rams’ backcourt is a big reason they are vying for conference supremacy. Again, making everybody better was part of the deal.
That can be a fine line as a scoring point guard, deciding whose turn it is. As with any family, you have to learn to read the room.
“You know, it depends on the situation, but my first thought is to try and find the best shot for the team as a whole,” Hofschild said. “Especially in the beginning of games, I want to get everyone involved and get them going, because I think that creates such a good flow, but there are times I look to create my own shot. It’s just kind of that balance to make sure everybody is getting their chances in the spots where they can be successful at.”
Still, what draws some attention to Hofschild is her height. That’s fine with her, as it has been a constant storyline for her playing career. She always played up with the older kids, and that helped develop her game and her ability to block out what others saw as a deficiency.
See, older kids don’t always want to share the ball with the youngster, so she learned to create her own shots. And taller kids were always trying to block those shots, so she learned how to leverage her speed to counter the notion.
Pay attention and you’ll see her drive full speed down the lane against a post-up center. You’ll also see her stop on a dime as the defender continues to back track, then rise up in the lane and hit a soft jumper.
Now that’s a flex.
“McKenna is doing a great job of being a scorer, but also looking for shooters to be able to win,” Tori said. “Kenna’s mentality is to score, which is clearly should be – she made six 3-pointers (this past game). She’s just a scorer. It’s not really surprising, and she’s played basketball her whole life, so she knows how to move her body, get baskets and help us win.”
But if you look at her game in parts, you miss the big picture.
CSU has gone from an offensively challenged team to one which leads the conference in field-goal percentage (48.4 percent) and is second in both scoring (84.7 points) and scoring margin (15.3 per). Tori sits eighth on the ledger in conference scoring, Hofschild ninth and Lore Devos 11th.
The Rams are 8-2 overall, 4-2 in conference play, which has them sitting third at the moment. They already have a signature win they didn’t hold a season ago, beating defending champion Fresno State on the road to open the season.
“The thing she brings … the numbers are what they are … but she brings a tremendous amount of confidence to our lineup,” Coach Williams said. “Our team steps on the floor with more confidence because McKenna is running our show. That’s why our shooting percentages are a lot better this year, and a lot of it is because of the energy and confidence she bring so her teammates.
“We lost 12 games by two possessions or less last year, and just to have a floor general who adds to your belief, that’s really helped our squad. Her energy, her leadership have really made a difference.”
Losing a pair of games this week to San Jose State (which has COVID-19 problems) is a temporary bummer, because the team feels it is on the verge of picking up steam. The games should be rescheduled, but it was another chance for Hofschild to continue to establish her place within her new home.
The thing about new homes is they need time to take shape, and she hasn’t seen this place fully decked out, leaving Hofschild with much to be excited about, such as seeing fans inside Moby Arena and the campus fully abuzz with students moving from class to class and holding conversations under a tree in the Oval.
She wants to attend other sporting events with her teammates, and she wants to be able to be social without being distanced.
Still, the new place is really nice. And her coach is sure her new place offers her plenty of space to entertain.
“I think she’s going to grow more passionate about this place, because people are going to want to come watch this young lady play,” he said. “If you’re a basketball fan and you live within whatever radius, you’re going to want to watch this young lady play.”
Really, home is where you feel surrounded by family, blood or not. Besides, nobody expects to have all the boxes unpacked right away. That happens organically, the more a person starts to feel settled.
At this moment, Hofschild is feeling downright comfortable.
“Without a doubt. CSU is kind of everything I’ve always been looking for,” she said. “I was looking for a place I could come and be 100 percent myself, feel comfortable and just be confident in the player that I am and the person I am. Coming here knowing I have what it takes on the court, but then having such great people off the court to get to know and get so close with, it’s really a lot more than I could have ever expected.”
From the Rams’ perspective, their new roommate is all they hoped. Her list of chores was long and challenging, but issued with the idea she could do them her own way, and most definitely at her own fevered pace. Everybody has to pitch in, and Hofschild enabled her teammates to do their work in a more efficient way.
Moving isn’t so bad after all.