Indiana lands five-star forward and former Duke signee Mackenzie Mgbako

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mike Woodson’s dramatic offseason roster rebuild got perhaps its biggest boost yet Friday, when top-10 forward Mackenzie Mgbako committed to Indiana following a visit to Bloomington last weekend.

A five-star prospect who originally signed with Duke, Mgbako reopened his recruitment in the spring window and took visits to St. John’s, Kansas and Indiana before announcing his decision Friday. He is the highest-rated player, per the 247Sports Composite, to commit to Indiana since Romeo Langford in 2018. Louisville was also considered a late contender.

Listed at 6-8, Mgbako is considered a potentially high-level shot-maker at the college level, with range stretching beyond the 3-point line and the kind of offensive versatility that makes him a matchup problem on the wing or in the frontcourt. He is the sort of threat the Hoosiers have had trouble defending in recent seasons, and have had equal trouble finding for themselves.

Mackenzie Mgbako has committed to Indiana.

Can Mike Woodson recruit? That’s an emphatic yes with Mackenzie Mgbako’s IU commitment.

His commitment hands Woodson another major roster boost, as IU’s third-year coach constructs his first roster without Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Replacing the do-everything All-American forward was always going to require a comprehensive approach. Jackson-Davis was Indiana’s best scorer, rebounder and shot blocker, the Hoosiers’ most-threatening defensive presence and, by the end of last season, his team’s best facilitator. Both in terms of career numbers and usage rate, Jackson-Davis became the kind of player a program only sees once in a generation.

Yet there was always a strong parallel suggestion from Woodson that the kind of roster he’d prefer to build wouldn’t always necessarily be built around a focal-point big man. More than once, Woodson referred to Jackson-Davis as a sort of player — a back-to-the-basket forward — he’d never built around before, and while Jackson-Davis evolved into more…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-lands-five-star-forward-225810841.html?src=rss

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2023-05-12 22:58:10

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