High school basketball: Roselle Catholic adds Duke commit Mackenzie Mgbako to loaded roster

By Jordan Divens Aug 2, 2022, 11:15am

Class of 2023 No. 2 prospect averaged 19.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists to earn first team MaxPreps Junior All-America honors.

Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), the New Jersey Tournament of Champions winner and No. 3 team in our way-too-early high school basketball rankings for 2022-23, bolstered its roster with the addition of five-star prospect and Duke commit Mackenzie Mgbako.

Mgbako, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward, announced the news Thursday via Twitter. As a junior at Gill St. Bernard's, he led the Knights to the NJSIAA North Non-Public B title game while averaging 19.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists to earn first team MaxPreps Junior All-America honors.

Mgbako is the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2023 overall, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. He committed to Duke in April over offers from Auburn, Connecticut, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State and UCLA.

At Roselle Catholic, Mgbako joins a team that includes fellow first team MaxPreps Junior All-America selection Simeon Wilcher, top 100 prospect Akil Watson, as well as Tarik Watson, Richard Brisco, Christian Pierre-Louis and Jaidon Glover.

With the addition of the five-star forward, the New Jersey powerhouse makes a strong argument to take over the No. 1 spot in the 2022-23 preseason rankings for 2022-23 while Mgbako and Wilcher have the potential to develop into the top one-two punch in high school hoops.



The Lions went 29-2 last season en route to their fourth NJSIAA Tournament of Champions crown in the event's final year and the No. 4 spot in the final MaxPreps Top 25 Rankings. The program also captured titles in 2013, 2015 and 2018.