High School

Mackenzie Mgbako, five-star 2023 forward (New Jersey), commits to Duke basketball

The 6-foot-8 five-star wing gives Duke another blue chip to follow up the nation's No. 1 2022 recruiting class.

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Mackenzie Mgbako, five-star 2023 forward (New Jersey), commits to Duke basketball
Mackenzie Mgbako, five-star 2023 forward (New Jersey), commits to Duke basketball /

Mackenzie Mgbako, a 6-foot-8 class of 2023 forward for Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) and consensus five-star prospect, announced his commitment to Duke on Friday, as first reported by Sports Illustrated.

Mgbako is the third consensus five-star to commit to incoming coach Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils' 2023 class, signaling a strong follow-up to Duke's No. 1 class in the country in 2022.

Predictions from recruiting sites 247 Sports and On3 leading up to Mgbako's Friday announcement, which took place an hour before he played for Team World in the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore., signaled a trend toward the Blue Devils.

247 Sports and ESPN's No. 3 prospect in the country for the class of 2023 chose Duke over finalists Kentucky, Memphis and Ohio State.

As a junior, Mgbako led Gill St. Bernard to a 20-7 season, averaging 19.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and around a block and a steal per game.

Here are his junior season highlights:

Published
Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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