Quiet Mangas Let's His Play Do The Talking
February 27, 2017 at 5:11 p.m.
Quiet Mangas Let's His Play Do The Talking
By Dale [email protected]
That phrase certainly seems to fit Kyle Mangas on and off the basketball court.
By his own admission, Mangas is the quiet kind.
On the basketball court, the Warsaw senior lets his play do the talking.
Away from the hoops spotlight, which burns bright when you’re the star player for the tradition-rich Tigers, the soft-spoken and humble Mangas says he’s just a normal teenager that is a bit shy and who’s most comfortable hanging out with friends.
“My friends and other people at school would probably describe me as quiet,” said Mangas. “I’m really quiet and pretty shy until you get to know me. I’m sure that’s something that sticks out to people, that I’m really quiet.
“I like to do all the things most kids do, I like to spend a lot of time with my friends ... guys on the team, and guys outside of basketball that I’m really close with.”
While Mangas just wants to fit in and be a normal teenager, on the basketball court he’s easily recognizeable and he impacts the game in so many ways for the Tigers.
“He’s a very good competitor,” Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of the 6-foot-3 Mangas, who will play college hoops at Indiana Wesleyan University. “He is not afraid of the big moment. He’s not afraid to try and do something when you need him to. There’s a fearlessness there. He has a fearless approach that I really appreciate.
“He can score in a variety of ways – he’s a good three-pointer, he’s good at getting to the basket in transition, and he’s a great free throw shooter.
“He can impact the game on the defensive end. He’s not a flashy player, he’s kind of a throwback. He’s just very steady, and he’s just been unbelievably consistent.”
Mangas has made 72 starts for the Tigers, and in his three seasons as a starter Warsaw is 57-16 overall and 21-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference.
In limited playing time as a freshman, Mangas scored 22 varsity points, followed by 272 as a sophomore and 523 as a junior.
So far as a senior Mangas has scored 494 points, bringing his career total to 1,311.
With only the state tournament left in his brilliant prep career, Mangas is fifth on Warsaw’s all-time scoring list.
He trails only 1996 Mr. Basketball Kevin Ault (2,028), 2011 Mr. Basketball runner-up Nic Moore (1,891), 1985 Mr. Basketball Jeff Grose (1,751) and 1952 Warsaw grad Whitey Bell (1,331), who played at North Carolina State and later for the New York Knicks.
Mangas has put his name into some pretty elite company, and ahead of some pretty elite company.
Among the top 11 scorers in Warsaw boys basketball history are seven Indiana All-Stars.
“That’s pretty cool,” Mangas said of the names he’s put his by in the Warsaw record books. “It’s fun to look back and see all the players that I’ve been able to pass by scoring those points. Now that I’m up there near guys like Jeff Grose and Nic Moore, that’s pretty cool to me.
“It’s gone by fast.?If I look back to my freshman year when I didn’t score many varsity points, 1,300 points is a lot.”
Mangas said that he’s been honored to put on a Warsaw uniform and that “it means everything to me to be a Warsaw Tiger. I wouldn’t want to be on any other team in the area or any other team in the state.”
Before he puts on a uniform for the Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats, Mangas may have the opportunity represent the Hoosier State as an Indiana All-Star in the annual summer series with Kentucky.
“That would be a dream come true,” said Mangas. “That would mean a lot ... only 12 or 13 guys in the whole state get to do that.
“I think I’ve proved myself. We’ve won a lot of games, and I’ve scored against some really good competition. We played a really tough schedule this year.”
Mangas has led the Tigers in scoring three straight seasons, scoring 11.8 points per game as a sophomore, 19.4 as a junior and 21.5 as a senior.
Prior to scoring 10 points against Carroll in a regular season ending 44-39 loss, Mangas scored at least 20 points in 13 straight games.
Mangas shoots 49 percent from the field overall, 41 percent from three-point range, and 88 percent from the free throw line.
He leads Warsaw in rebounds (5.5), assists (2.4) and steals (1.6).
Looking at what Mangas has done, Ogle said he believes his star player has done enough to deserve a spot on the Indiana All-Star team.
“I definitely think he has the resumé for it,” said Ogle. “To me, it’s not even a question. You average almost 22 points a game as a senior, and you look at how efficient he is, he’s not really taking that many shots. And if you look at the teams we’ve faced that have guys that will be Indiana All-Stars, Kyle has outplayed them.
“How many guys go through their high school career and don’t lose a conference game? I think that’s worth something. That might be one of his best achievements.”
Time will tell if Mangas adds his name to the list of Warsaw players that have been selected to play for the Indiana All-Stars.
Until then, Mangas is focused on helping his team win another sectional championship.
The Tigers open sectional play Wednesday against Northridge and will have to win three games in four days to claim the program’s 40th sectional title.
“Last year we got the bye, so we were fortunate with that,” said Mangas, who helped guide the Tigers to a 25-2 record and semistate appearance in 2016. “This year, hopefully we’ll be playing three games at North Side Gym. We’re fine with that. We’re really focused and motivated to win.”
That phrase certainly seems to fit Kyle Mangas on and off the basketball court.
By his own admission, Mangas is the quiet kind.
On the basketball court, the Warsaw senior lets his play do the talking.
Away from the hoops spotlight, which burns bright when you’re the star player for the tradition-rich Tigers, the soft-spoken and humble Mangas says he’s just a normal teenager that is a bit shy and who’s most comfortable hanging out with friends.
“My friends and other people at school would probably describe me as quiet,” said Mangas. “I’m really quiet and pretty shy until you get to know me. I’m sure that’s something that sticks out to people, that I’m really quiet.
“I like to do all the things most kids do, I like to spend a lot of time with my friends ... guys on the team, and guys outside of basketball that I’m really close with.”
While Mangas just wants to fit in and be a normal teenager, on the basketball court he’s easily recognizeable and he impacts the game in so many ways for the Tigers.
“He’s a very good competitor,” Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said of the 6-foot-3 Mangas, who will play college hoops at Indiana Wesleyan University. “He is not afraid of the big moment. He’s not afraid to try and do something when you need him to. There’s a fearlessness there. He has a fearless approach that I really appreciate.
“He can score in a variety of ways – he’s a good three-pointer, he’s good at getting to the basket in transition, and he’s a great free throw shooter.
“He can impact the game on the defensive end. He’s not a flashy player, he’s kind of a throwback. He’s just very steady, and he’s just been unbelievably consistent.”
Mangas has made 72 starts for the Tigers, and in his three seasons as a starter Warsaw is 57-16 overall and 21-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference.
In limited playing time as a freshman, Mangas scored 22 varsity points, followed by 272 as a sophomore and 523 as a junior.
So far as a senior Mangas has scored 494 points, bringing his career total to 1,311.
With only the state tournament left in his brilliant prep career, Mangas is fifth on Warsaw’s all-time scoring list.
He trails only 1996 Mr. Basketball Kevin Ault (2,028), 2011 Mr. Basketball runner-up Nic Moore (1,891), 1985 Mr. Basketball Jeff Grose (1,751) and 1952 Warsaw grad Whitey Bell (1,331), who played at North Carolina State and later for the New York Knicks.
Mangas has put his name into some pretty elite company, and ahead of some pretty elite company.
Among the top 11 scorers in Warsaw boys basketball history are seven Indiana All-Stars.
“That’s pretty cool,” Mangas said of the names he’s put his by in the Warsaw record books. “It’s fun to look back and see all the players that I’ve been able to pass by scoring those points. Now that I’m up there near guys like Jeff Grose and Nic Moore, that’s pretty cool to me.
“It’s gone by fast.?If I look back to my freshman year when I didn’t score many varsity points, 1,300 points is a lot.”
Mangas said that he’s been honored to put on a Warsaw uniform and that “it means everything to me to be a Warsaw Tiger. I wouldn’t want to be on any other team in the area or any other team in the state.”
Before he puts on a uniform for the Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats, Mangas may have the opportunity represent the Hoosier State as an Indiana All-Star in the annual summer series with Kentucky.
“That would be a dream come true,” said Mangas. “That would mean a lot ... only 12 or 13 guys in the whole state get to do that.
“I think I’ve proved myself. We’ve won a lot of games, and I’ve scored against some really good competition. We played a really tough schedule this year.”
Mangas has led the Tigers in scoring three straight seasons, scoring 11.8 points per game as a sophomore, 19.4 as a junior and 21.5 as a senior.
Prior to scoring 10 points against Carroll in a regular season ending 44-39 loss, Mangas scored at least 20 points in 13 straight games.
Mangas shoots 49 percent from the field overall, 41 percent from three-point range, and 88 percent from the free throw line.
He leads Warsaw in rebounds (5.5), assists (2.4) and steals (1.6).
Looking at what Mangas has done, Ogle said he believes his star player has done enough to deserve a spot on the Indiana All-Star team.
“I definitely think he has the resumé for it,” said Ogle. “To me, it’s not even a question. You average almost 22 points a game as a senior, and you look at how efficient he is, he’s not really taking that many shots. And if you look at the teams we’ve faced that have guys that will be Indiana All-Stars, Kyle has outplayed them.
“How many guys go through their high school career and don’t lose a conference game? I think that’s worth something. That might be one of his best achievements.”
Time will tell if Mangas adds his name to the list of Warsaw players that have been selected to play for the Indiana All-Stars.
Until then, Mangas is focused on helping his team win another sectional championship.
The Tigers open sectional play Wednesday against Northridge and will have to win three games in four days to claim the program’s 40th sectional title.
“Last year we got the bye, so we were fortunate with that,” said Mangas, who helped guide the Tigers to a 25-2 record and semistate appearance in 2016. “This year, hopefully we’ll be playing three games at North Side Gym. We’re fine with that. We’re really focused and motivated to win.”
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