Late in the second half Saturday, with his team clinging to a 5-point lead, Harvard guard Malik Mack shooed away a Justice Ajogbor screen and sized up his opponent.
Mack dribbled between his legs, darted left, absorbed a Penn double-team, spun back to his right, and buried a contested fadeaway with the shot clock at 4 seconds.
During an ensuing timeout, Harvard not-so-subtly blasted Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s hit “Can’t Hold Us,” which features the line: “Return of the Mack.”
It was a logical song choice, but it didn’t tell the full story. Even as the freshman phenom started the game 1 for 10, he remained supremely confident and left his imprint in Harvard’s 74-70 triumph. Mack didn’t pout or dwell on his misses. Instead, he showcased his versatility and poise, finishing with 15 points (11 of 13 from the line), 5 assists, and just 1 turnover.
“When he’s scoring, we’re a very difficult team because we can get it from different places,” Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said. “But I’m not judging him just from his points. I’m judging him from his presence.”
Some nights, Mack catches fire and drops 20-plus. Others, he deliberately defers and provides exactly what the Crimson need. The slithery lefty, a 6-foot-1-inch, 170-pound freshman from Oxon Hill, Md., is averaging 17.9 points, 4.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals for the 14-10 Crimson. He recently tied the record for the most Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors with eight.
Mack is mature beyond his years and doesn’t play like a typical freshman. He has gracefully navigated a family death, a bout with mononucleosis, and countless new looks from opposing defenses in year one. This season has challenged him and worn him down in ways he didn’t anticipate, but each experience has made him stronger.
“For me, it’s just overcoming struggle,” Mack said. “Learning how to keep my head down and stay focused on what’s ahead.”
Mack fell in love with basketball while watching Kobe Bryant, then Steph Curry became an idol at a later age. He wasn’t necessarily the best player early on, but he blossomed into a star and steered St. John’s College High School to a top 25 national ranking while earning 2022-23 Gatorade Player of the Year honors for Washington, D.C.
He used the pressure that comes with playing in the “DMV” (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) as fuel to become the next Division 1 player from the area. Mack received close to 20 offers, but Amaker felt real to him throughout the recruiting process. Amaker didn’t guarantee anything, telling Mack he would have an opportunity to carve out a role if he put in the work.
“We knew when we were able to start the recruiting process that he had an opportunity to be a really special player,” Amaker said.
Teammate Denham Wojcik said everyone in the gym understood right away, from the first practice, that Mack was a dynamic player. He dropped 13 in game one, 20 in game two, 22 in game three, and 32 in a 78-75 overtime win over UMass in mid-November.
“I feel like I was under the radar,” Mack said. “A lot of people didn’t know who I was, so I took it and ran with it.”
Basketball was an escape as he tried to cope with the loss of his 17-year-old cousin, Mekai Johnson, who was murdered in October.
“There were times where I didn’t want to go to class, times where I didn’t want to do anything but play ball,” Mack said. “It kept my mind off a lot of things. It’s just something I had to get through.”
In December, he contracted mononucleosis, which sidelined him for three games. As he returned, and tried to find his legs and rhythm, he adjusted to a variety of defensive looks designed to stop him.
Mack has backed up his nickname, “The Free Throw Merchant,” making a living at the line and keeping defenses guessing with his versatility. ESPN’s Jay Bilas dubbed him his “Dude of the Day” on “College GameDay” in mid-February, highlighting his poise and noting that he’s “not afraid of the moment.”
As the NBA buzz has intensified — including comments on Instagram from DMV legends such as Michael Beasley — Mack has prioritized blocking out the noise. His focus is on winning games, and he’s confident the rest will sort itself out in time.
“He’s been one of the more talked-about kids around the country, and he’s earned that,” Amaker said. “He’s been outstanding.”
Milestone moments
Boston University coach Joe Jones earned his 300th NCAA win when the Terriers outlasted American. BU (13-16, 8-8 Patriot) is riding its first three-game win streak of the season and has won six of nine after starting 7-13 … Fellow Patriot League coach Dave Paulsen reached 500 wins that same night, when Holy Cross earned a 73-59 victory over Bucknell … Boston College guard Jaeden Zackery eclipsed 1,000 career points in a loss to Florida State … UMass Lowell forward Max Brooks hit 1,000 in a 29-point performance vs. Albany.
Trevor Hass can be reached at trevor.hass@globe.com. Follow him on X @TrevorHass.