Indiana basketball aims to get Mackenzie Mgbako out of early slump by ‘paying attention to the details’

Freshmen come into college basketball every single year and have their struggles. It’s a matter of when, not if. But, for Indiana basketball freshman Mackenzie Mgbako, those struggles have happened right out of the gate.

The five-star wing is averaging just 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17 minutes per game in Indiana’s two wins to start the season and his play in the second half of both games has been minimal.

Mgbako has totaled just nine second-half minutes in the first two games combined. Five in the season-opener and four in Sunday’s win. This wasn’t because of a massive lead that led to the starters sitting, it was quite the opposite.

“Well, he has to play harder and do the things that we want done on both ends of the floor,” Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson said of Mgbako on Sunday. “That might keep him in the game.”

It has been well documented the defensive struggles that Mgbako has had through two games. Whether he’s on or off of the ball, his out of positioning has not only hurt the Indiana defense, but in turn himself.

Coming to Indiana, Mgbako showed all of the tools to be a terrific two-way player. And, through two exhibitions he showed that ability in spurts as well. But, his lack of concentration defensively stems from the other end of the floor.

Through two games, Mgbako has an offensive efficiency rating of just 59.5. He has had the two lowest ratings for Indiana in both games this year.

He is just 3-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-2 from three.

His inability to get shots off and sometimes lack of touches is a drastic fall off from the first two exhibitions this season. Albeit exhibition games, Mgbako averaged 14.5 points and was 10-of-19 from the field. He was 4-of-7 from three and also 5-of-8 from the foul line. He hasn’t sniffed any of those numbers in his two regular season appearances.

Instead of Mgbako closing out games, it has been a three-headed guard attack from Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway and fellow freshman Gabe Cupps.

“I’m going to play guys that want to play and play the right way. The last two games that small line-up coming down the stretch was pretty good for us,” Woodson said. “I don’t know if we’ll live with it the rest of the season, but if they keep making plays down the stretch, I think it will be okay for us.

“I want to see more from Mackenzie, more from Kaleb, more from CJ. I want to see more when they’re in the game. If I don’t feel like they’re giving it to me, I’ve got to go somewhere else and get it.”

While it starts and ends on the defensive end of the floor, it’s going to come down to the details on both ends — something senior captain Xavier Johnson is trying to enforce with not just Mgbako, but Gunn and Banks as well.

“I try to tell them to do the right things. You do the right things, play hard, and Coach will reward you,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of guys go away from not playing as hard and just not want to play at all, but you have to play hard to play for Coach Woodson.”

Mgbako is not the only Hoosier to struggle offensively to start the year, but he’s the only one that isn’t able to play through those struggles. If he can hone in on the details, it could open up the floodgates.

Indiana needs Mgbako in order to reach the goals they have this season. It hasn’t been the start either wanted, but there is a lot of time to go.

There’s no denying the talent that the 6-foot-8 wing has. He just needs those details to click.

“He needs to continue to understand how the game is played,” Calbert Cheaney said about Mgbako during Monday’s radio show. “The college game is totally different from high school. He just needs to pay attention to the details of what coach (Mike Woodson) wants him to do. He’ll be fine.”

SEE ALSO: Kel’el Ware an early bright spot in otherwise dismal offensive start for Indiana basketball

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