Mackenzie Mgbako made great strides toward the end of this freshman season and he’s committed to building on that.
When Indiana’s men’s basketball team had a mini-revival at the end of the 2024 regular season with a five-game winning streak, it was no coincidence the Hoosiers got better as then-freshman swingman Mackenzie Mgbako started to figure out how to play at the college level.
In February and March games, Mgbako averaged 14.7 points, converted 40% of his shots, and became a passable threat from the 3-point arc at 33.3%.
His defense remained a work-in-progress, but he improved from the early part of the season when he was a considerable liability.
Many assumed Mgbako might be a one-and-done player given how highly touted he was coming out of high school. Instead, the Gladstone, N.J., native is back and ready to build on the progress he made at the end of the 2024 season.
“When you have a feel for it? You can ease into it a lot better,” said Mgbako on having a college season under his belt.
Finishing the 2024 season playing his best basketball certainly helped the transition into the offseason.
“It built my confidence a lot. It let me know where I was as a player and where I want to reach,” said Mgbako during Indiana’s Media Day on Sept. 18.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson just wants to make sure Mgbako continues to raise his game. Making a jump in quality as a freshman only matters if strides continue to be made.
“You make a jump, there’s always another jump in basketball that you got to try to reach. And he’s played well this summer. He’s improved from last year. It took him some time, which we thought it might take him some time,” Woodson said.
Mgbako will have an integral role for the Hoosiers. Even with the infusion of talent in Washington State transfer Myles Rice, Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle, Illinois swingman Luke Goode and true freshman forward Bryson Tucker, Mgbako will apply his versatile talents all over the floor to fit in with the greater lineup flexibility Indiana should have in the 2024-25 season.
“I feel like our positions are interchangeable. I’ll play one through four, so being able to handle the ball or post up or be on the wing. What we need, we’re going to try to take it to the next level,” Mgbako said.
Playing the one, or point guard, might not be on the radar from the perspective of Indiana fans, given that Rice, Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps are more familiar at that spot. But Mgbako is convinced he’ll spend time in that role, and he wants to be prepared.
“I’ve worked on my handle because the ball might be in my hand a bit more,” said Mgbako, who also mentioned the decision-making responsibility that comes with running the offense.
“Or I can play off-ball and get the right shot, or if it’s passing up a shot looking for the open player,” Mgbako continued.
Mgbako understands that he needs to improve defensively. All of that competition he wants to fit in with can hold a player back if they have a weakness in part of their game.
Given that, Mgbako said the coaching staff made defense an offseason priority for the sophomore.
“They definitely told me to play better defense and get low on defense,” Mgbako explained. “I’ve opened up my hips. I think that’s very essential to staying low and playing correct defense.”
Mgbako also noted that the coaching staff has been more focused on defense generally with everyone. He said that drills are routinely stopped so the coaches can correct defensive flaws.
Mgbako is not a man of many words. But he did express excitement about the players Woodson has added to the team and the variety of different looks the Hoosiers will be able to throw at opponents.
“I feel like chemistry has been real good. We’ve been able to make strides in the right direction with moving the ball, finding the open shot, finding the right player to get the open shot or play inside-out,” Mgbako said.
Woodson is confident that Mgbako’s sophomore season will represent another step in his progression as a player and that the Hoosiers will be better for it.
“It’s all about growth, man,’’ Woodson said. “And once he started to figure out some things, he became a pretty good player for us. But this summer, he’s made another jump, which I expect him to make that jump.”