Man, so much to respond to. . .
1. This dude's twitter has 151 followers and he claims to be "Independent Sports Journalist".
2. MgBako is a DUDE. He is athletic, fast and everything that most experts on Rupp's Rafters said we needed last year.
3. Pope and his staff are smarter than all of us.
4. Chill TF out. Maybe take a break from RR.
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IU fan. Been watching Mackenzie Mgbako for two years.
Positives?
Mgbako has an absolutely fantastic shooting stroke. And at 6'9" with a pretty quick release he has the ability to use it.
Mgbako is a pretty reasonable perimeter defender for his size - he has improved a ton with that.
Negatives?
Mgbako is most definitely not athletic or fast. He plays below the rim, does not finish well, and has no ability to score near the rim or be aggressive when he gets the ball there.
Mgbako is not an intuitive player. When he's singled up on defense he's good, but when there's a ton of switching and reacting he stinks. He is also a terrible passer and turns it over when he needs to put the ball on the floor.
Most importantly? Mgbako has the gloomiest personality imaginable. He never gets mad. He never gets excited. He is in a continuing state of meh. He is one of the primary reasons that the IU locker room kinda stunk for the past two years after Trayce Jackson Davis, Miller Kopp, and Race Thompson left. Leal and Goode, two significantly less talented players, gradually leached minutes away from Mgbako this year, and as they did so the team dynamic improved.
Good luck with him. My prediction (FWIW) is that he'll have a fantastic game early in the season when he gets good looks, but when it's all said and done he'll frustrate the crap out of most of you.
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