While name tags will be helpful this summer, Indiana will have a foundation of returning players to help provide stability in Mike Woodson’s fourth season in Bloomington.
Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal got things started on Senior Day when they both announced their returns for fifth seasons.
Since then, Malik Reneau, Jakai Newton and Gabe Cupps have all indicated they are returning to Indiana. That makes five of the 12 scholarship players from this past season who will be back. Not a lot, but a better scenario than what the message board crowd would have led you to believe.
But there’s still one more Indiana player who could possibly return for next season.
What about Mackenzie Mgbako?
When we spoke to him before the season, Mgbako unabashedly stated his goal was to be one-and-done. And there were NBA Draft projections at the time that placed him in the first round.
Things changed quickly, and early in his freshman season, it appeared the 5-star recruit had just one option — return to college.
But a strong back half to his first campaign at Indiana led Mgbako to be named the co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Mgbako became one of two freshmen in the NCAA to score over 400 points, make at least 50 3-pointers, convert on 90-plus free throws, and grab at least 125 rebounds. One of two Hoosiers to start all 33 games, he’d go on to average 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 27.1 minutes per game.
At 6-foot-8 and 217 pounds, Mgbako has a prototypical NBA frame. And he displayed a projectible NBA skillset as his first season wore on. Mgbako made 37.6% from three on five attempts per contest over a 25 game stretch (games 7-31). That’s a very strong run for a high major college freshman. And with his high and quick release, that’s enough of a data set to indicate he’s going to be a good shooter. Nearly half (46%) of his shots on the season came from three.
Mgbako also showed improvement scoring off the bounce as the season progressed, and he made strides as a defender as well. He made 54.5% of his shots at the rim, played through contact, limited turnovers, and got to the foul line and converted there, making 82.1%.
So what will be his next move? Mgbako appears to be in the ideal situation to declare for the NBA Draft and get feedback. While he doesn’t appear in mock drafts now, Mgbako could make a strong impression in front of league executives in the coming months.
As a reminder of those rules, a player like Mgbako needs to enter the draft by April 27, he can utilize an agent, if invited can attend the draft combine May 13-19, and he’d have until June 16 to either stay in the draft or return to college.
So it could be a while before we have clarity on Mgbako’s decision for 2024-25.
If he does return to Indiana next year, it will be interesting to see what role Mgbako plays. As a freshman he started every game at the small forward position, and only saw very limited action at the four. But Mgbako’s strengths at this level and the next seem to be more those of a stretch-four. And his ability to stretch the floor from that spot would be highly valuable when it comes to providing much-needed spacing in Indiana’s offense.
What he lacks in the ball-handling skill and explosiveness you expect in a wing, he seems to make up for with the strength and toughness needed to play power forward. Defensively, Mgbako will end up in better matchups at the four spot as well. At 6-foot-8, Mgbako is the average height of an NBA power forward, so there seems to be no reason to force an unnatural move to the three.
If he comes back, for both IU and Mgbako, and move to the four spot would seem to be prudent.
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