Mackenzie Mgbako flashes his offensive versatility in career night against Minnesota
Mackenzie Mgbako’s mom called Mike Woodson after he de-committed from Duke and reopened his recruitment last spring. With strong New York area ties, the Mgbako family wanted Woodson and Indiana’s staff to give the five-star a look.
Woodson did just that, and Mgabko committed to Indiana after taking an official visit. As one of the highest-rated recruits in program history, the New Jersey native came into his freshman season with lofty expectations. But Mgbako got off to a slow start. Off-the-court drama and defensive lapses headlined his early winter, but as the season went on, the 6-foot-8 forward began to get much more comfortable in the cream and crimson.
In Friday night’s 74-62 home win against Minnesota, Mgbako put together his best game on both ends of the floor. The McDonald’s All-American scored a career-high 19 points on 50 percent shooting, snatched four rebounds and dished out two assists — one of which was a transition lob to Trey Galloway, resulting in a dunk.
Mgbako’s aggressiveness has increased recently from the start of the season. He’s scored double-figures in 10 out of the last 12 games.
“I thought he was aggressive right from the start,” Woodson said postgame. “He got some good looks early that he made. I ran a couple plays for him that he was able to knock shots down, and the way they double-team, it opened him up on the backside, as well, to get shots.”
“It started from the tip-off,” Mgbako added. “I felt like once we started the game aggressive, it could carry over on to our defense…just being aggressive on both sides of the floor is what created the win tonight.”
Spot-up shooting is one of Mgabko’s strengths, and it will continue to be, but he’s proven his ceiling isn’t just as an off-the-catch sniper. Against the Golden Gophers, he did most of his work off the dribble and attacking the basket.
Whether it was off a dribble hand-off or using a spin move through the lane to create separation, the freshman could get to the hole effectively.
Statistically, 72.6 percent of Mgbako’s field goal attempts are jumpers, where he averages 0.96 points a shot. That’s solid, as most of his points have come off the catch this season, but when he attacks the basket, he can become a dynamic scorer.
The freshman doesn’t have the best handle, so it’s not ideal for him to be in too many isolation possessions or spearheading the pick-and-roll. But, hand-offs and screens where he can catch and put it on the deck give him some steam downhill. Specifically, Mgbako has driven to his left on 87.5 percent of his drive attempts. That could be schematic or comfort, but mixing it up should throw defenders off if they start shading his left hand. He scored four points off screens against Minnesota. The freshman is shooting 42.9 percent coming off them this season.
He’s also an outstanding free throw shooter, as his 85.4 percentage from the stripe is far and away the best on the roster. These dribble-drive opportunities allow him to use his size and strength to create contact. For a teenager, his ability to muscle through the lane is impressive. Against Minnesota, he attempted a team-high seven foul shots.
“Even in practice, I always encourage Mack just to go to the rim, get fouled, try to create anything that can get us a bucket, even in-game,” teammate Kel’el Ware said. “So he works on it in practice and it translates to the game.”
Being around the rim gives him second-chance opportunities as well. On Friday, he scored six points on putbacks. Only 25.7 percent of his possessions end at the rim, which Indiana would be wise to increase.
Making Mgbako a more featured part of the offense could help take the interior load off of Malik Reneau and Ware. It makes Indiana dynamic with his size and ability to stretch the floor.
The forward struggled with the mental aspects of Woodson’s defense scheme early in the winter, but he’s starting to come along. He mentioned one of the hardest things in his transition to Indiana has been the shift in the type of defense he ran in high school to Indiana.
His defense at the basket has been underrated this season — Mgbako grades in the 93rd percentile when defending the rim. Opponents are shooting 4-for-14 on layups when he’s the primary defender. His maneuvering around the perimeter could improve, but his improvement on that end of the floor has allowed him to be aggressive offensively.
Minnesota’s lack of ball pressure and containment in the lane allowed Mgbako to have his career day, but his skill set is wider than how he’s primarily been used. Making the freshman a driving threat and running sets for him to get downhill could change Indiana’s offensive ceiling.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
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