2023 SF/PF Mackenzie Mgbako to INDI-F’N-ANA

[Stuhoo 79,703]

1 hour ago, Hardwood83 said:

Kind of amazing and scary that with all the effort put into these recruitments that something so random and minor could swing it. 

 

Given Mack's hometown location, I'm wondering if @TeeterInNJ was the hero of Hoosier Nation!

 

[WayneFleekHoosier 47,943]

5 hours ago, Hardwood83 said:

Kind of amazing and scary that with all the effort put into these recruitments that something so random and minor could swing it. 

I listened to the interview and while it’s worded correctly, I think a lot of nuance gets left out of the decision making process.  This was more likely just a little omen thing that adds to a good story.  You could tell by his tone and lack of follow up questions the license plate didn’t win the recruitment.  It was just a cherry on top that adds to a cool story.  

Edited June 16, 2023 by WayneFleekHoosier

[Josh 12,557]

11 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

If you have time, a great session with Mack and the Hoosier Hysterics. Truly an impressive, intelligent young man.

My favorite story from the interview was at the end. Mack is torn between Kansas and Indiana; loves both programs but kind of leaning toward Kansas. He’s in the 'thinking and praying about it' stage and driving to school, when he looks up in traffic and sees that the car in front of him has an Indiana University vanity plate. He takes it as a sign from above and at that point he decides it’s going to be Indiana. 

Didn't Tamar Bates tell a similar (almost exact) story driving around IMG Academy?

[Home Jersey 6,598]

5 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Given Mack's hometown location, I'm wondering if @TeeterInNJ was the hero of Hoosier Nation!

Gladstone is a 15 minute drive from me. It is also a fairly significantly more upscale area, lol. Not a bastion of 5 star recruits at all. His parents are clearly hard workers and have instilled a business oriented mindset in Mack - rightfully so. As said on HH, they all saw his potential and rallied around him. This young man has an amazing family and support system. Great head on his shoulders.

Gill St. Bernards, where he spent the first three years of his career, is less than 20 miles from me. I've been hearing about this kid for years. Saw a few games when he was a freshman/sophomore. He was always clearly a cut above. GSB is not exactly a slouch program (they're actually really, really good since the early 2010s), but Roselle Catholic is more of a basketball factory kind of school. He won a state championship in his single year there. I honestly find this entire recruitment semi-miraculous (exaggerating, but the stars definitely aligned) between him opting out of Duke, his mother texting Woodson, the Indiana plate, winning out when he was still kind of undecided. 

Not the only factor, but sounds like NIL made a big difference too. 

Let's be real ya'll - it wasn't the license plate. He loved the campus and the visit/felt comfortable with the staff. Tough not to love Bloomington. Plus, a ton of kids from around here go to IU, it's plenty well known and regarded... easy to acclimate to. Nobody from NJ goes to Kansas, really. You don't hear about anyone around here going there, maybe silly to say, but screw them lol. He knew he wanted to go to IU, just needed a signal to show it wasn't "recency bias" (his words) 

...I may or may not have called up a few old pals from Muncie, Marion, and Kokomo to make a road trip... call it intuition. For real though, I do see a ton of Indiana license plates around here. Not just 18 wheelers, regular cars/trucks. Couple of times every week reliably. And tons of IU alumni/parent/student stickers and vanity plates.

To put it into perspective, he played on the same AAU team as DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw heading to Kentucky (also teammates at Camden, an NJ powerhouse). He was reliably the first option on that team. Of course on a team that stacked, guys are going to get their's on any given night. But if the game was coming down to the wire, more often than not, the play was getting drawn up for Mack. Pretty sure a while ago I saw an interview with DJ Wagner acknowledging Mack would probably be considered the team's "leader" if he had to pick a player. I'll have to see if I can find it later and will share here.

I don't think Mack is going to walk in and be averaging 20ppg+ from Day 1, but I do think he is going to live in the gym and continue to get better from now through March. And I expect that as he gets more comfortable at the college level and familiar with teammates/staff, he will grow into more of a leadership role (obviously this is going to be XJ's team, but Mack did not come here to F around and I think he is the kind of guy to hold himself and the people around him accountable). How many more days until the season starts, again?

[ebridges24 2,417]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:30 PM, TeeterInNJ said:

Gladstone is a 15 minute drive from me. It is also a fairly significantly more upscale area, lol. Not a bastion of 5 star recruits at all. His parents are clearly hard workers and have instilled a business oriented mindset in Mack - rightfully so. As said on HH, they all saw his potential and rallied around him. This young man has an amazing family and support system. Great head on his shoulders.

Gill St. Bernards, where he spent the first three years of his career, is less than 20 miles from me. I've been hearing about this kid for years. Saw a few games when he was a freshman/sophomore. He was always clearly a cut above. GSB is not exactly a slouch program (they're actually really, really good since the early 2010s), but Roselle Catholic is more of a basketball factory kind of school. He won a state championship in his single year there. I honestly find this entire recruitment semi-miraculous (exaggerating, but the stars definitely aligned) between him opting out of Duke, his mother texting Woodson, the Indiana plate, winning out when he was still kind of undecided. 

Not the only factor, but sounds like NIL made a big difference too. 

Let's be real ya'll - it wasn't the license plate. He loved the campus and the visit/felt comfortable with the staff. Tough not to love Bloomington. Plus, a ton of kids from around here go to IU, it's plenty well known and regarded... easy to acclimate to. Nobody from NJ goes to Kansas, really. You don't hear about anyone around here going there, maybe silly to say, but screw them lol. He knew he wanted to go to IU, just needed a signal to show it wasn't "recency bias" (his words) 

...I may or may not have called up a few old pals from Muncie, Marion, and Kokomo to make a road trip... call it intuition. For real though, I do see a ton of Indiana license plates around here. Not just 18 wheelers, regular cars/trucks. Couple of times every week reliably. And tons of IU alumni/parent/student stickers and vanity plates.

To put it into perspective, he played on the same AAU team as DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw heading to Kentucky (also teammates at Camden, an NJ powerhouse). He was reliably the first option on that team. Of course on a team that stacked, guys are going to get their's on any given night. But if the game was coming down to the wire, more often than not, the play was getting drawn up for Mack. Pretty sure a while ago I saw an interview with DJ Wagner acknowledging Mack would probably be considered the team's "leader" if he had to pick a player. I'll have to see if I can find it later and will share here.

I don't think Mack is going to walk in and be averaging 20ppg+ from Day 1, but I do think he is going to live in the gym and continue to get better from now through March. And I expect that as he gets more comfortable at the college level and familiar with teammates/staff, he will grow into more of a leadership role (obviously this is going to be XJ's team, but Mack did not come here to F around and I think he is the kind of guy to hold himself and the people around him accountable). How many more days until the season starts, again?

Great post Teet

[RaceToTheTop 24,940]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:11 AM, Stuhoo said:

If you have time, a great session with Mack and the Hoosier Hysterics. Truly an impressive, intelligent young man.

My favorite story from the interview was at the end. Mack is torn between Kansas and Indiana; loves both programs but kind of leaning toward Kansas. He’s in the 'thinking and praying about it' stage and driving to school, when he looks up in traffic and sees that the car in front of him has an Indiana University vanity plate. He takes it as a sign from above and at that point he decides it’s going to be Indiana. 

Being from New Jersey, I'm glad he didn't look at the license plate in front of him and then commit to continue his career at Bruce Springsteen Elementary.

[eddy4iu 621]

On 6/16/2023 at 12:59 PM, Hardwood83 said:

Kind of amazing and scary that with all the effort put into these recruitments that something so random and minor could swing it. 

I get your perspective but he’s a praying man so no such thing as random or minor. Glad he’s a Hoosier!!!

[RaceToTheTop 24,940]

6 hours ago, eddy4iu said:

I get your perspective but he’s a praying man so no such thing as random or minor. Glad he’s a Hoosier!!!

If it was that simple, there wouldn't have been a need to go on any visits.

[Demo 19,620]

 

[J34 1,472]

[Hovadipo 55,086]

25 minutes ago, J34 said:

If the skill ends up matching the NBA body, look out.

[Stuhoo 79,703]

5 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

If the skill ends up matching the NBA body, look out.

 

Just saying... skill and intuitive decision making have been the factors that make him a five star, not athleticism/strength.

And, in the Hoosier Hysterics podcast with Gabe Cupps, Gabe said that the surprising thing about Mack for him is that Mack can shoot the lights out as a wing.

So, yay us!

 

[sweetpain 534]

If the skill ends up matching the NBA body, look out.

Does not seem to be angle trick?

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[go iu bb 5,511]

17 minutes ago, sweetpain said:

Does not seem to be angle trick?

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He's been on campus for like a month and a half. There might be some improvement in that time but nothing drastic. There are lots of tricks that can be used in photography to show results like that other than just angle. Some of them are on display here:

- Flexing

- Lighting

- Before vs after workout

- Sweat/oil or not

He's definitely ripped but he already was when he got to IU.

[Demo 19,620]

1 hour ago, Hovadipo said:

If the skill ends up matching the NBA body, look out.

Yeah, when I was in college nobody looked like that when they were 19. Cliff Marshall’s did not exist. 

[Hovadipo 55,086]

1 hour ago, sweetpain said:

Does not seem to be angle trick?

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Not a huge fan of Clif's side-by-sides (it honestly looks like he horizontally shrunk the left photo lol), but Mack has always impressed physically. He's what a like to call a PTMF - a put-together MF.

[WayneFleekHoosier 47,943]

Wish our roster was garnering more critical acclaim but I’m optimistic.  Gonna have to be a ‘chip on your shoulder” type of season.  

[ledies22 60]

10 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Wish our roster was garnering more critical acclaim but I’m optimistic.  Gonna have to be a ‘chip on your shoulder” type of season.  

favorite type of seasons. High expectations usually result in disappointment. The under the radar season winning games you're not supposed to is the best. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,937]

https://www.insidethehall.com/2023/07/19/freshman-focus-mackenzie-mgbako/

[Stuhoo 79,703]

1 hour ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Wish our roster was garnering more critical acclaim but I’m optimistic.  Gonna have to be a ‘chip on your shoulder” type of season.  

Not to get too off-topic, but for me the major factor in whether we'll have a chance to be special is dependent on the development of Kel'el Ware. 

While he under-performed last year, uber-athletic stretch 7'1" five stars don't come around often. If he turns into a major factor we may be able to athletically dominate defensively. A starting guard line of X and Gallo is already a major defensive plus.