IUPUI’s Madison Wise brings the ball up the court in a game against Cleveland State.
Photo courtesy IUPUI Athletics
GREENFIELD — You have heard the song over and over again.
Team wins game, public address blasts DJ Khaled’s “All I do is win.”
That could also be the title of Madison Wise’s basketball career.
From Greenfield-Central to Iowa State to IUPUI, all she did was win, win, win.
Wise wrapped up her playing career in March, finishing her final season close to home at IUPUI.
The Jaguars went 24-5, won the Horizon League, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program’s history.
She had previously played four seasons at Iowa State. The Cyclones went to two NCAA tournaments and would have likely gone to three if not for COVID-19’s kibosh on the 2020 tourney.
Her G-C teams were pretty good, too, winning 71 games over four years, including a 23-win season and sectional title in 2016.
Wise scored over 2,000 points in a Cougars uniform and was an Indiana All-Star. She added another 900 points as a college player.
The wins.
The points.
The stats.
When she looks back on her playing career, those aren’t the most important things.
“Coach Fenn (Bill Fennelly at Iowa State) used to say that you’re not going to look back and remember the games you won or lost. You’re going to remember the people and how you dealt with things that were more important than the game,” Wise said. “I think all my coaches did a good job of emphasizing that.”
Playing college basketball at its highest level, Wise did more than win games and hone her basketball skills. She took away more from the sport than improving how to dribble, pass and shoot.
“The relationships were most important,” she said. “These girls are all from different places, Iowa, Minnesota, some, obviously, from Indiana, at IUPUI. Keeping in contact with them, always having stories to tell, what we went through, what we thought was a big deal was just a game of basketball.”
“It’s so neat the simple game of basketball can lead you to meet some of your closest lifelong friends and give you the best experiences and memories of your life. That’s way more important than any game we ever won or lost. Those are the things I will forever cherish.”
Wise, like all athletes during the 2020 COVID-19 season, was granted an extra year of eligibility.
After playing four years in the Big 12 Conference, Wise wasn’t sure whether she’d play a fifth.
Having a number of concussions, dating back to her youth, she had some hesitation on continuing to play. Then, a spot opened at IUPUI. Some of her AAU teammates she had played with during elementary school were already part of the Jaguars roster.
“I really wanted to come back home,” Wise said. “My sister and brother both moved back to Indiana and started families and I had a nephew pass away. I wanted to go back home.”
“The Iowa State coaches were super supportive, doing everything they could to help me.”
In the game that has led her to so many great friendships, Wise decided to go back and play with some of those that she had been friends with the longest.
Before becoming teammates at IUPUI, Rachel McLimore, who had also played at DePaul, and Destiny Perkins were two of her best friends, dating back to much younger days playing for Indy Magic. She had played with Macee Williams, IUPUI’s top player, on the Indiana All-Star team. Another player, Taylor Ramey, was a teammate in fourth grade.
Even assistant coach Holly Hoopingarner was a former Wise teammate.
The camaraderie on and off the court led to the best season in IUPUI’s history. She even picked up a win over former-rival Iowa, something she was unable to get while playing at Iowa State.
With her playing time finished, Wise said she would still like to be around the game.
Currently, she is working as an intern in the Game Operations department for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. She said it has been a new and good experience to see what goes on behind the scenes of a basketball game.
She is not sure what will come after this, but has aspirations to be a DOBO (Director of Basketball Operations), coach or take another other job that can keep her close to basketball.
“Basketball has really been an important part of my life, but looking back, the relationships are the most important thing,” Wise said. “A coach told me a long time ago, the ball stops bouncing.”
“You’re going to stop playing and then you realize there are more important things than the game.”
“Overall, I think I am just thankful for the whole process,” Wise added. “Starting when I was three-years old at the Greenfield Boys and Girls Club and the relationships I’ve been able to make, the things I’ve been able to experience, and just the platform that God gave me, it’s been amazing.”
