Projected NBA draft pick Mgbako opts for Aggies

Mackenzie Mgbako, a projected second-round pick, volition retreat from the NBA draught and walk his inferior play astatine Texas A&M, helium told ESPN connected Tuesday.

"I decided to retreat to absorption connected becoming a fastener first-round prime adjacent year," Mgbako said. "I americium committed to making the improvements to my crippled based upon feedback from NBA teams."

The NCAA deadline for players to retreat from the NBA draught and support assemblage eligibility is Wednesday astatine 11:59 p.m. ET.

Mgbako, a top-10 precocious schoolhouse enlistee successful 2023 and erstwhile McDonald's All-American, spent his archetypal 2 seasons astatine Indiana, averaging 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds successful 26 minutes implicit 65 games.

He elected to participate the transportation portal successful precocious March and committed to Texas A&M respective weeks later. However, helium besides announced his intentions to research the NBA draught process, being invited to the G League Elite Camp successful Chicago earlier this month.

Mgbako led the campy successful scoring -- posting 41 points and 11 rebounds successful 41 minutes -- to gain an invitation to the much prestigious NBA Draft Combine. He continued to people there, too, adding different 31 points and 16 rebounds successful 43 minutes. He finished the week shooting 13-of-26 from 3 portion drafting escaped throws successful bunches, importantly improving his outlook arsenic an NBA imaginable aft besides measuring conscionable nether 6-foot-9 successful shoes.

"I look guardant to gathering disconnected of my acquisition astatine the harvester and squad workouts and translating that into a afloat season's worthy of hoops astatine Texas A&M," Mgbako said. "I look guardant to playing successful Coach McMillan's system, doing immoderate is asked of maine to assistance our squad win, play successful the NCAA tourney and spell heavy into March."

Mgbako volition beryllium 1 of galore caller faces successful College Station adjacent season, arsenic the Aggies were forced to wholly rehaul their roster aft manager Buzz Williams elected to depart for Maryland. Samford manager Bucky McMillan was hired to regenerate Williams, completing a meteoric emergence from spending 12 years astatine Mountain Brook High School to coaching successful the SEC aft 5 seasons successful the Southern Conference.

Just 1 player, Chris McDermott, who scored 9 points successful 45 minutes of enactment past season, returns for the Aggies.

Also connected Tuesday, Creighton transportation Pop Isaacs, much than a period aft committing to Houston, has signed with the Aggies, sources told ESPN's Jeff Borzello. Isaacs, a erstwhile All-Big 12 enactment successful 2023-24 astatine Texas Tech, had picked Houston arsenic the evident replacement for Milos Uzan, who had entered the NBA draught but withdrew his sanction from draught consideration connected Tuesday.

Isaacs played successful conscionable 8 games for Creighton past play earlier a hep wounded caused him to miss the remainder of the campaign. He was averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists anterior to injury, including a 27-point show against Kansas.

Including Isaacs, 10 players person signed with Texas A&M from the transportation portal, including Mgbako, North Alabama defender Jacari Lane, Kansas helping Rylan Griffen, Texas Tech large antheral Federiko Federiko, NC State defender Marcus Hill, Samford defender Joshua Holloway and others.

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draught adept and the laminitis and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a backstage scouting and analytics work utilized by NBA, NCAA and International teams.