McKenzie Forbes is looking forward to her freshman season at Cal
If Cal women’s basketball is going to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament this season, they’re going to need major production from their star McDonald's All-American freshman McKenzie Forbes, who is known for her versatility and ability to play both out on the wing and in the post. While a lot of freshmen would be nervous about having so much on their shoulders, Forbes is embracing the responsibilities that she’s been given and is eager to step on the court at Haas Pavilion.
”I’m so excited,” Forbes told GoldenBearReport.com at an early media event. “I just love the Pac-12 because you never know what can happen. Every single night you have to be ready to play because it almost seems as if there’s no weakness sometimes. Yeah, just super good teams and just fast style of play.
“The coaching in the Pac-12 is great. There’s a lot of brilliant coaches. Always scheming, always scouting, so you have to bring your A-game every single night. There’s not really a road trip where you can say ‘Oh, this is going to be an easy trip.’ You have to bring it every single night and that’s what’s most exciting to me because I’m a super competitive person and I just love that. And I’m just super excited to get into the conference.”
The transition from high school to college has gone smoothly for Forbes so far. She really enjoyed her summer classes and feels like she has a lot of resources to help her acclimate to life as a college athlete.
“Well, the transition actually has been pretty smooth,” Forbes said. “Probably more smooth than I was worried about coming in. The summer was great, I took two courses, and I think that was definitely the right amount for me to acclimate myself as far as getting used to work outs and class and getting your school work done and all that.
“But my teammates have been super great and helpful. Anytime I have a question, I can ask Teezy (Asha Thomas) or Mo (Mosley) or one of the seniors. Or Bird (Alaysia Styles) and Kianna and they’re definitely going to help me out. So, they’ve been a really big part of my adjustment. I think it’s been pretty smooth so far. Yeah, just rolling.”
In addition to her teammates on the women’s basketball team, Forbes has also gotten to know some of the players on the men’s basketball team, especially incoming freshman Jacobi Gordon, who like her is expected to have a major role in his first year at Cal.
“Those are my guys,” Forbes said. “I’ve gotten to know Cobi (Jacobi Gordon), Dre (Andre Kelly), Matt, Connor. There’s a lot of them, but Cobi is my guy. He’s just a chill dude. He likes to hoop, he likes to work out all the time, so I think we just kinda clicked off that. We’re pretty close. So yeah, they’ve been cool. I had a course with them. Two courses with them over this summer.”
While Forbes is developing close relationships on campus, no one has a stronger relationship with her than brother Mason, who is a freshman on the Harvard men’s basketball team. Dubbed the “Forbes Twins” due to their proximity in age (Mason older by 16 months), the two of them are really close, texting each other every day to provide encouragement to one another. Forbes says that it really helps to have someone so close to her who is going through the same experiences as she is.
“Yeah, that’s definitely huge,” Forbes said of her relationship with Mason. “We still text every day, face times, and just going through the high school experience with him I think it will definitely be very similar to the college experience. Just being able to relate to things. Especially with both of us being freshmen, being our first year at pretty hard institutions for both of us. I mean, the hardest thing you can get for him, but yeah, he definitely helps out. Just being there to support me and me being there to support him. So that definitely makes it easier.”
On the academic side, Forbes is really enjoying her classes and the chance to study at the world’s top public university. She’s leaning towards majoring in sociology and is very excited about one sociology class in particular.
“I think I’m locking in on sociology,” Forbes said of what she wants to major in. “I’m still undeclared, so we’ll see. But that’s what I’m interested in. I’m taking a sociology class with a focus on social media and virtual communities. So, I’m super excited for that just because social media is such a big part of my life growing up and everyone now, basically.
“So, I’m super excited to learn that and African studies in history is another class I’m super excited about taking. I’m just super grateful to be at such a prestigious institution because the professors are so incredible, and you just know right when you walk in you're surrounded by excellence and brilliance in every class.”
Similar to new Cal men’s basketball commit D.J. Thorpe, what McKenzie Forbes is most excited about is all that Cal has to offer both on the court and in the classroom. The combination of world class academics and elite level athletics is something she is really looking forward to experiencing:
“I think just being able to meet so many different types of people. It’s really a very very unique situation with the level of athletics I’m able to get at the same time getting the highest level of academics that’s possible, so I’m just super excited about meeting some interesting and different people and putting myself out there and pushing my comfort zone. Not just athletically, but socially. So, I’m really excited for that.”