Kel'el Ware at his Indiana visit
(via kelelware_ instagram)
Mackenzie Mgbako at his Indiana visit (via mack.mgbako instagram)
With the additions of 5-star transfer, Kel'el Ware and top-10 recruit, Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana now shows the potential to be a force, not only in the B1G 10, but on the national level.
Most were extremely worried about IU falling into a lull after making consecutive NCAA tournaments under 3rd year Head Coach Mike Woodson. However, Woodson silenced those fears by going out and getting the number 9 incoming class as rated by 247 Sports. These initial fears were not without real reason for skepticism either. IU lost four starters from last year, and these four happened to be the teams top leading scorers. Not only that, but at this time Indiana only had one incoming freshman in the top 100 in Bronny James' former teammate, Gabe Cupps. To say the least, things were not looking good for the Hoosiers.
But then things began to go the way of Coach Woodson, as things tend to do with a good coach. First, Xavier Johnson was able to get a medical waiver permitting him to come back for his third year at Indiana, then Payton Sparks became the first transfer to commit to Indiana, and eventually Kel'el Ware announced his commitment. This was the time when Hoosier fans began to regain hope. Ware was a former top 10 recruit and is just oozing with raw talent. If the coaching staff at IU was able to combine the veteran-ness of Xavier Johnson and the crazy athleticism and tool box of Kel'el Ware, then maybe, just maybe we would find our way into the NCAA tournament field once again.
But then came the Mackenzie Mgbako saga. One of the nations top recruits and perhaps the best incoming offensive player, shockingly, decommitted from Duke. The Blue Devils are a college basketball powerhouse that have won 5 national Championships, reached 13 final fours, have the most NCAA tournament wins ever, and have produced the third most NBA players of any college program. This was an extreme surprise for many, including myself. But regardless of how much of a surprise it was, it happened. So, naturally, people began to speculate where he would go next. This included all sorts of ideas, from USC to Oregon, but most were put to rest when he scheduled 4 visits. The first of which was to St. Johns and new head coach Rick Pitino, then to the 2021 national champion Kansas Jayhawks, the third went to the 5-time NCAA tournament winning Indiana Hoosiers, and the fourth was scheduled for University of Louisville. After the first three, however, he cancelled his visit to Louisville and announced that it was down to IU or KU. Most analysts were pegging KU as the favorite. There were multiple valid reasons for this, including: the recent success, the head coach (Bill Self), and maybe most importantly, Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson. The reason these two supposedly play such a role is because of how similar their play style was to Mack Mgbako's. All three of these guys are elite shooters with the quickness and handle to drive the lane effectively, and the size to be plus rebounder. Both Wilson and Dick thrived in Kansas' offense. In his time at Kansas, Wilson won a national title, a first team All-American selection, a Big 12 player of the year and a Julius Erving award ( best SF in the nation). As for Dick, he is a projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Because of these factors, KU was a sure choice for most. However, as we know, this did not come to fruition, instead Mackenzie Mgbako committed to the Indiana University Hoosiers and became an integral piece, not only to the success of this year's team, but to Indiana basketball returning to its former prestige.
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