Mackenzie Mgbako, a projected second-round choose, will withdraw from the NBA draft and spend his junior season at Texas A&M, he advised ESPN on Tuesday.
“I made a decision to withdraw to give attention to turning into a lock first-round choose subsequent 12 months,” Mgbako mentioned. “I’m dedicated to creating the enhancements to my recreation primarily based upon suggestions from NBA groups.”
The NCAA deadline for gamers to withdraw from the NBA draft and keep faculty eligibility is Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Mgbako, a top-10 highschool recruit in 2023 and former McDonald’s All American, spent his first two seasons at Indiana, averaging 12.2 factors and 4.3 rebounds in 26 minutes over 65 video games.
He elected to enter the switch portal in late March and dedicated to Texas A&M a number of weeks later. Nonetheless, he additionally introduced his intentions to discover the NBA draft course of, being invited to the G League Elite Camp in Chicago earlier this month.
Mgbako led the camp in scoring — posting 41 factors and 11 rebounds in 41 minutes — to earn an invitation to the extra prestigious NBA draft mix. He continued to attain there, too, including one other 31 factors and 16 rebounds in 43 minutes. He completed the week taking pictures 13-of-26 from 3 whereas drawing free throws in bunches, considerably bettering his outlook as an NBA prospect after additionally measuring slightly below 6-foot-9 in sneakers.
“I sit up for constructing off of my expertise on the mix and staff exercises and translating that right into a full season’s price of basketball at Texas A&M,” Mgbako mentioned. “I sit up for enjoying in Coach McMillan’s system, doing no matter is requested of me to assist our staff win, play within the NCAA event and go deep into March.”
Mgbako can be considered one of many new faces in Faculty Station subsequent season, because the Aggies have been compelled to utterly rehaul their roster after coach Buzz Williams elected to depart for Maryland. Samford coach Bucky McMillan was employed to exchange Williams, finishing a meteoric rise from spending 12 years at Mountain Brook Excessive Faculty to teaching within the SEC after 5 seasons within the Southern Convention.
Only one participant, Chris McDermott, who scored 9 factors in 45 minutes of motion final season, returns for the Aggies.
Additionally on Tuesday, Creighton switch Pop Isaacs, greater than a month after committing to Houston, has signed with the Aggies, sources advised ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Isaacs, a former All-Massive 12 choice in 2023-24 at Texas Tech, had picked Houston because the obvious alternative for Milos Uzan, who had entered the NBA draft however withdrew his title from draft consideration on Tuesday.
Isaacs performed in simply eight video games for Creighton final season earlier than a hip harm triggered him to overlook the remainder of the marketing campaign. He was averaging 16.3 factors, 4.8 rebounds and three.9 assists previous to the harm, together with a 27-point efficiency towards Kansas.
Together with Isaacs, 10 gamers have signed with Texas A&M from the switch portal — Mgbako, North Alabama guard Jacari Lane, Kansas wing Rylan Griffen, Texas Tech large man Federiko Federiko, NC State guard Marcus Hill, Samford guard Joshua Holloway and others.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft professional and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a personal scouting and analytics service utilized by NBA, NCAA and Worldwide groups.
