Mangas Hopes To Continue Stellar Career
March 12, 2021 at 11:51 p.m.
Mangas Hopes To Continue Stellar Career
By Chip Davenport-
Mangas, in that final season, averaged nearly 23 points per game, gave opponents fits beyond the three-point arc as well as inside, where he could use a head fake before poster-izing opponents with stand-still two-handed dunks. Standing 6’3” and weighing 175 pounds soaking wet at the time, he and his teammates reached the regional finals, Indiana’s Elite Eight, before his season ended.
Gifted with extraordinarily long arms, deceiving quickness, and still working on a jumper that already looked like it was motion memory, fans in Warsaw were surprised with Mangas’s choice, a NAIA Division II school in nearby Marion, Indiana.
What Division II colleges, or better yet, what Division I schools were seeking the commitment from this work in progress athlete? Why did he choose Indiana Wesleyan?
Standing before me on Senior Day for a postgame discussion, Mangas was now 6’4” 200-pounds.
He now plays with length, as he did in high school, but with more physicality against teams who clog the hardcourt paint with post players typically between 6’9” and 7-feet in height.
“I actually wasn't recruited by many schools at all, and not really Division II,” Mangas reflected. “Indiana Wesleyan looked at me, and we built the connection early. That's why I committed here so early. I didn't care about the level I was playing. I wanted the right fit. That's always important.”
Presently, there is continued speculation of his future among fans and friends as to where the four-time Crossroads League Player of the Year will spend his future. Mangas is currently preparing for a big weekend today as his IWU Wildcats will host the opening round of the 83rd NAIA Men’s basketball championship tournament, so he continues to approach first things first.
The Wildcats will need six straight wins to hoist the trophy they garnered in Mangas’s very successful freshman season. Mangas, predictably, remains focused on not thinking too far ahead, but he was able to discuss some future basketball opportunities nonetheless in his patented humble manner.
“I’m interested in playing basketball at the next level,” Mangas remarked, “but I’m not focused on that yet because we have the national tournament. It’s definitely a goal of mine, but I don’t know what that looks like now, but it’s the plan.”
The possibilities for Mangas elicit memories of another standout Warsaw Tiger guard. Mangas mentioned the possibilities of overseas professional ball.
“Overseas is definitely an option. There is a lot of good basketball played over there,” Mangas commented. “One of the guys I grew up watching from Warsaw was Nic Moore. He’s signed contracts to play in Portugal and Italy. Just to see someone like that from Warsaw who’s done that and become successful at it. I hope I can get some opportunities like that.”
Mangas carries a 4.0 GPA at IWU majoring in finance, so letting the air out of the basketball wouldn’t be daunting for the current, two-time Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award winner. The “Bevo” award as players refer to it, crowns small-college basketball’s national player of the year at the end of the regular season.
“My time here at IWU hasn’t only been about basketball,” Mangas noted. “I’ve been able to use some internships to figure out what things I could get into. Financial advising would be one, insurance would be another.”
“That’s the great thing about finance and business,” Mangas continued. “There are so many different types of positions in small or large companies to use my education. IWU has prepared me for that. I’m feel I’m balanced and well rounded.”
Team achievements and character are also important considerations for the “Bevo” Francis award. Those who have spent the last four years with Mangas talk just as much – if not more - about Mangas the man as they would Mangas the ballplayer who has flirted on and off all season with the 30-points per game scoring level.
“A lot of things that make him special most people are going to start with are what they see with the naked eye: the highlights, statistics, fundamentals,” IWU 16-year head coach Greg Tonagel remarked. “I think what separates him from any other player that I've coached is his ability to focus on others and trying to make others better.”
Mangas has been making others better on the court in his senior season averaging seven assists per contest, third in the NAIA national rankings. Again, however, talk moves quickly to Mangas the man.
“When he leaves this place guys who were ever lucky enough to spend time in the locker room with him are just going to talk about Kyle’s character, who he was as a human being. To me that's the true mark of a legacy because points and rebounds can all come and go, and those might be broken someday.”
Mangas moves right to the impact on his character special people have made throughout his high school and college career, usually without reference to a technical aspect of basketball. If you ask him about whom he is grateful for on his journey he’s not going to tell you something like, “…the guy who has made my bank shots amazing in college.” He’ll speak more about the intangibles.
“(Former Warsaw head) coach (Doug) Ogle showed me how to play basketball, but he also helped me grow as a person in high school,” Mangas recalled. “I have to give him a lot of credit. His kindness, his humility, he taught me how to be patient. I think he really loved his players, like loved them like a dad.”
The foundation of remarkable character can either come from overcoming childhood adversity, or from having great examples of character among family.
“I give credit to my parents obviously I have to shout out to my brother (Jake), too,” Mangas said. “He's two years older than me. Growing up I was always playing ball with him and his group, so I was playing with the kids who are older. Growing up and just seeing his work ethic.”
The older brother’s example as a student is also influential on Mangas’s academic success at IWU.
“Jake was the valedictorian at Warsaw,” Mangas said. “He was a Lilly scholar, so he showed me how to get it done in the classroom.”
Big brother was a solid forward on the basketball court who played bigger than his 6’2” height, and he also piloted the Warsaw Tiger football team at quarterback. The valedictorian had a brief quarterback-receiver combination under Friday night lights with his kid brother during Kyle’s early high school years.
AAU basketball, however, afforded essential development time on some of the strengths of Mangas’s game during the months of August though October. The decision to focus on basketball was very easy for the younger Mangas brother.
The young man’s father, Tim Mangas, a 1,000-point scorer in his own high school basketball career, recalled the process and the rationale.
“We just knew going forward (instead of football) he was going to play basketball.” Mangas-the-Elder commented. “It gave us that time from August through October before the season started to really work on his game, actually. That's where I would say his outside shooting really took off. You’ve got to be able to knock down three pointers at the next level. Just being fresher instead of coming out of football season being beat up, then ‘bam’ you’re right there on the court helped his development.”
Mangas’s father also commented on fit IWU afforded his son, who already eclipsed the previous Wildcats’ career scoring record in his junior season.
“Indiana Wesleyan was a perfect match for him, the style to play, the way they get the ball up and down the court,” Mangas’s father said. “I was just amazed at how they shared the ball back in high school, and so I thought he would fit in very well here, obviously. I didn't think it would turn into what he's done now, but I knew he would flourish in this system.”
The basketball success roots don’t stop with Tim Mangas. Kyle’s mother, Ann, played for Wawasee in the state championship game as a high school hoopster. She is appreciative of the total experience IWU has been for her son’s athletic career, but even more so about his progression from Mangas the boy to Mangas the man.
“I knew early on that it's going to be so much bigger than basketball,” his mother said. “We noticed the great legacy, the tradition, the culture, and it felt like this was the best place for him. The journey has been incredible for Kyle, and we are so blessed to be a part of it.”
The Mangas family isn’t giving Kyle advice on approaching this season’s championship journey like one would speculate most parents with such a great track record of basketball might do.
“Kyle is just Kyle (to us),” she continued. “We love him, but we didn’t give him advice on how to approach championship tournaments or anything like that.”
The straight-A student athlete certanly used his used his experience at IWU, setting foot on the campus as Mangas the boy who will soon leave with a college degree and promising professional options on and off the hardwood as Mangas the man.
Mangas, in that final season, averaged nearly 23 points per game, gave opponents fits beyond the three-point arc as well as inside, where he could use a head fake before poster-izing opponents with stand-still two-handed dunks. Standing 6’3” and weighing 175 pounds soaking wet at the time, he and his teammates reached the regional finals, Indiana’s Elite Eight, before his season ended.
Gifted with extraordinarily long arms, deceiving quickness, and still working on a jumper that already looked like it was motion memory, fans in Warsaw were surprised with Mangas’s choice, a NAIA Division II school in nearby Marion, Indiana.
What Division II colleges, or better yet, what Division I schools were seeking the commitment from this work in progress athlete? Why did he choose Indiana Wesleyan?
Standing before me on Senior Day for a postgame discussion, Mangas was now 6’4” 200-pounds.
He now plays with length, as he did in high school, but with more physicality against teams who clog the hardcourt paint with post players typically between 6’9” and 7-feet in height.
“I actually wasn't recruited by many schools at all, and not really Division II,” Mangas reflected. “Indiana Wesleyan looked at me, and we built the connection early. That's why I committed here so early. I didn't care about the level I was playing. I wanted the right fit. That's always important.”
Presently, there is continued speculation of his future among fans and friends as to where the four-time Crossroads League Player of the Year will spend his future. Mangas is currently preparing for a big weekend today as his IWU Wildcats will host the opening round of the 83rd NAIA Men’s basketball championship tournament, so he continues to approach first things first.
The Wildcats will need six straight wins to hoist the trophy they garnered in Mangas’s very successful freshman season. Mangas, predictably, remains focused on not thinking too far ahead, but he was able to discuss some future basketball opportunities nonetheless in his patented humble manner.
“I’m interested in playing basketball at the next level,” Mangas remarked, “but I’m not focused on that yet because we have the national tournament. It’s definitely a goal of mine, but I don’t know what that looks like now, but it’s the plan.”
The possibilities for Mangas elicit memories of another standout Warsaw Tiger guard. Mangas mentioned the possibilities of overseas professional ball.
“Overseas is definitely an option. There is a lot of good basketball played over there,” Mangas commented. “One of the guys I grew up watching from Warsaw was Nic Moore. He’s signed contracts to play in Portugal and Italy. Just to see someone like that from Warsaw who’s done that and become successful at it. I hope I can get some opportunities like that.”
Mangas carries a 4.0 GPA at IWU majoring in finance, so letting the air out of the basketball wouldn’t be daunting for the current, two-time Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award winner. The “Bevo” award as players refer to it, crowns small-college basketball’s national player of the year at the end of the regular season.
“My time here at IWU hasn’t only been about basketball,” Mangas noted. “I’ve been able to use some internships to figure out what things I could get into. Financial advising would be one, insurance would be another.”
“That’s the great thing about finance and business,” Mangas continued. “There are so many different types of positions in small or large companies to use my education. IWU has prepared me for that. I’m feel I’m balanced and well rounded.”
Team achievements and character are also important considerations for the “Bevo” Francis award. Those who have spent the last four years with Mangas talk just as much – if not more - about Mangas the man as they would Mangas the ballplayer who has flirted on and off all season with the 30-points per game scoring level.
“A lot of things that make him special most people are going to start with are what they see with the naked eye: the highlights, statistics, fundamentals,” IWU 16-year head coach Greg Tonagel remarked. “I think what separates him from any other player that I've coached is his ability to focus on others and trying to make others better.”
Mangas has been making others better on the court in his senior season averaging seven assists per contest, third in the NAIA national rankings. Again, however, talk moves quickly to Mangas the man.
“When he leaves this place guys who were ever lucky enough to spend time in the locker room with him are just going to talk about Kyle’s character, who he was as a human being. To me that's the true mark of a legacy because points and rebounds can all come and go, and those might be broken someday.”
Mangas moves right to the impact on his character special people have made throughout his high school and college career, usually without reference to a technical aspect of basketball. If you ask him about whom he is grateful for on his journey he’s not going to tell you something like, “…the guy who has made my bank shots amazing in college.” He’ll speak more about the intangibles.
“(Former Warsaw head) coach (Doug) Ogle showed me how to play basketball, but he also helped me grow as a person in high school,” Mangas recalled. “I have to give him a lot of credit. His kindness, his humility, he taught me how to be patient. I think he really loved his players, like loved them like a dad.”
The foundation of remarkable character can either come from overcoming childhood adversity, or from having great examples of character among family.
“I give credit to my parents obviously I have to shout out to my brother (Jake), too,” Mangas said. “He's two years older than me. Growing up I was always playing ball with him and his group, so I was playing with the kids who are older. Growing up and just seeing his work ethic.”
The older brother’s example as a student is also influential on Mangas’s academic success at IWU.
“Jake was the valedictorian at Warsaw,” Mangas said. “He was a Lilly scholar, so he showed me how to get it done in the classroom.”
Big brother was a solid forward on the basketball court who played bigger than his 6’2” height, and he also piloted the Warsaw Tiger football team at quarterback. The valedictorian had a brief quarterback-receiver combination under Friday night lights with his kid brother during Kyle’s early high school years.
AAU basketball, however, afforded essential development time on some of the strengths of Mangas’s game during the months of August though October. The decision to focus on basketball was very easy for the younger Mangas brother.
The young man’s father, Tim Mangas, a 1,000-point scorer in his own high school basketball career, recalled the process and the rationale.
“We just knew going forward (instead of football) he was going to play basketball.” Mangas-the-Elder commented. “It gave us that time from August through October before the season started to really work on his game, actually. That's where I would say his outside shooting really took off. You’ve got to be able to knock down three pointers at the next level. Just being fresher instead of coming out of football season being beat up, then ‘bam’ you’re right there on the court helped his development.”
Mangas’s father also commented on fit IWU afforded his son, who already eclipsed the previous Wildcats’ career scoring record in his junior season.
“Indiana Wesleyan was a perfect match for him, the style to play, the way they get the ball up and down the court,” Mangas’s father said. “I was just amazed at how they shared the ball back in high school, and so I thought he would fit in very well here, obviously. I didn't think it would turn into what he's done now, but I knew he would flourish in this system.”
The basketball success roots don’t stop with Tim Mangas. Kyle’s mother, Ann, played for Wawasee in the state championship game as a high school hoopster. She is appreciative of the total experience IWU has been for her son’s athletic career, but even more so about his progression from Mangas the boy to Mangas the man.
“I knew early on that it's going to be so much bigger than basketball,” his mother said. “We noticed the great legacy, the tradition, the culture, and it felt like this was the best place for him. The journey has been incredible for Kyle, and we are so blessed to be a part of it.”
The Mangas family isn’t giving Kyle advice on approaching this season’s championship journey like one would speculate most parents with such a great track record of basketball might do.
“Kyle is just Kyle (to us),” she continued. “We love him, but we didn’t give him advice on how to approach championship tournaments or anything like that.”
The straight-A student athlete certanly used his used his experience at IWU, setting foot on the campus as Mangas the boy who will soon leave with a college degree and promising professional options on and off the hardwood as Mangas the man.
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