In the 41 seasons of the Horizon League only six women's basketball players have been awarded Player of the Year twice, including Macee Williams of IUPUI. Now Williams is on track to make history, possibly becoming the first three-time POY, but she has obstacles from last season she has to overcome first.

While Williams had an outstanding 2019-2020 regular season, she sat out all preseason with patellar tendinitis in both knees, which held her back from playing to her full potential both mentally and physically. This time nothing is getting in the way of her having a completely healthy year.

"Last season it was frustrating trying to get into the groove of things at the start of the season because I was so out of shape from my injury," Williams said. "I wasn't where I wanted to be compared to the rest of the team. It was mostly me getting in my head over things."

Williams was one of 25 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year. She led the Horizon League with a 19.7-point average in conference play. Her overall field-goal percentage of 59.5 was ninth best in the NCAA.

There was a different challenge before the start of this season. With COVID-19 cancelling summer practice, Williams was forced to go back home and create workouts for herself to ensure she would be fully equipped for when preseason practice began again.

"During the summer I went to gyms that allowed me to play other people from different areas," she said. "We would often play up and down and five-on-five with each other."
 
Putting in the extra work over the summer to avoid starting the season on the wrong foot again has already put her one step ahead of the game. The expectations are even higher for her now considering she has so much experience under her belt.

"Last year I was interested to see how Macee would do after being Player of the Year and how she would handle the expectations coming off an injury," IUPUI coach Austin Parkinson said. "The nice part about this season is the fact that she is a veteran and she is healthy. Knock on wood she has looked really good in practice."

Williams knows she has the potential to grab another Most Valuable Player award, but her main task at hand is going for a two-peat and contributing her talent to the team.

"It is a good feeling knowing I can be the first one in Horizon League history but I am focused on going to the NCAA championship without any interruptions this year," Williams said.

Her willingness to always want to become a better player may explain why she has been one of the most awarded athletes at IUPUI. Parkinson was confident in his statement that Williams is the best player to ever come through IUPUI.

"For women's basketball she is by far the best player," Parkinson said. "Macee is the best player that has ever played here. I'm not sure there is a better post-passer in college basketball. When teams have doubled her she has made them pay. You're really starting to see her overall sharpness and experience, she is just able to go to another level on the basketball court."

 Looking back at the last four years, Parkinson still remembers to this day what he felt when Williams made her verbal decision to play for the Jaguars. He will never forget coaching for someone as exceptional as Macee Williams.
 
"I always joke about this with my wife, but when [Macee] committed here, we fist pumped because we knew how special she would be," he mentioned. "Everyone sees the basketball part, she is phenomenal, but the other part is she is incredibly humble and a great teammate. She is very easy to coach and brings a positive energy every day. Everyone is going to remember the basketball stuff but there is another part of her that I think is special as well."

While IUPUI has given Williams many opportunities to shine, her future is just beginning.

"I am sad my time at IUPUI is almost over," she said. "I grew as a person here and I am ready to get my life on. I had the time of my life at IUPUI but I am ready to continue my career in basketball."

Playing professionally has been on Williams' mind since she touched a basketball for the first time. It would be her dream to play at a higher level and she even started the recruiting process.

"After college I am actually hoping to play professionally either in the United States or overseas," Williams said. "I am really hoping I can play in the WNBA. Some agents have reached out to me but I am not too far into the process because COVID halted everything."

As a backup plan, the bachelor's degree in Sports Management she will receive in the spring will always be there for her. She hopes to one day coach but playing basketball is the main focus for her right now.

"For right now she is just concentrating on getting better each day and making sure we maximize the workouts that we do have on a daily basis," Parkinson said. "WNBA is definitely a goal of hers and we talk about that a lot."