Mangas, a 6-foot-4 guard, was a three-time NAIA All-American at Indiana Wesleyan. He averaged 29.5 points per game in 2020-21.
Though he didn’t play his college basketball at Purdue, representing the tradition of basketball in Indiana is nothing new for Kyle Mangas.
Back for his second TBT with Men of Mackey, the prospect of again playing for a team affiliated with his home state excites Mangas.
“The word that sticks out to me is passionate,” said Mangas about basketball in Indiana. “Basketball means a lot to us. It’s been nice to represent Indiana overseas and now it’s exciting to represent the state with Men of Mackey on a national stage.”
In high school, Mangas scored 1,438 points as he led Warsaw to three undefeated Northern Lakes Conference championships, two sectional championships and a regional championship in class 4A before becoming an Indiana All-Star after his senior season.
From there, Mangas wasted little time making an impact collegiately at Indiana Wesleyan. As a freshman, he helped lead the Wildcats to an NAIA Division II national championship and earned tournament MVP honors. After his junior season in 2019-20, Mangas earned the prestigious Bevo Francis Award, given annually to the top small college basketball player in America.
He left IWU having scored 3,453 points, good for the school record and second-most in NAIA Division II history.
After his debut with Men of Mackey a summer ago, Mangas spent the 2021-22 season playing professionally for USK Praha in the Czech National Basketball league, where he earned all-star honors as a rookie and helped his team make the playoffs.
Mangas credited his experience with Men of Mackey a year ago as having helped him prepare for his overseas professional career.
“I was the youngest guy on the team by a lot. It was really good for me to learn from a lot of the guys, especially Kelsey Barlow, about what to expect and how the game is played,” said Mangas. “I didn’t play a ton, but I really enjoyed being a part of it.”
One of the interesting aspects of being the youngest man on the team is that Mangas grew up watching several of his Men of Mackey teammates, particularly Robbie Hummel and Lewis Jackson, despite not growing up a Purdue fan.
“Although I grew up an Indiana fan, I have so much respect for them and how they played and how good those teams were,” said Mangas. “Now it’s cool that I’m older and get to play with those guys. I couldn’t have ever imagined it.”
TBT presents different challenges for the players. Despite having played countless basketball games in their lives, the game format of TBT games causes a different approach to be used for both coaches and players.
Each game uses the “Elam Ending,” which results in a far different experience compared to traditional basketball games.
In games using the Elam Ending, the clock turns off at the first dead ball with less than four minutes to go. Eight points are added to the leading team’s point total, creating a “target score.” Once either team reaches the target point total, the game ends. For example, if Men of Mackey leads 70-65 when the Elam Ending begins, the first team to reach 78 points is the winner.
“With the Elam Ending, it feels like a pick-up basketball game where you play to a certain score. I like it; it’s different than what we’re used to and it involves strategy,” Mangas said.
The tournament itself is a single-elimination format, where even Men of Mackey’s first game could be their last. Mangas noted that this could be difficult, as there is quite a bit of build up and anticipation for TBT, and the team has to be ready to play right away.
“It’s not the NBA Finals where you get a series. You have to go out there and quickly mesh with your teammates and build chemistry or else you’re out of luck,” Mangas said.
Adding to the complex nature of TBT for Men of Mackey is the fact that the team is a blend of players who played collegiately together at Purdue and players who played elsewhere. Men of Mackey head coach Ryne Smith and Mangas both agreed that a season ago, the chemistry was strong with the Purdue players on the court together and with the non-Purdue players on the court together, but it wasn’t as effective when mixing the two.
“The Purdue guys knew each other’s play styles. We only have a few Purdue guys this year, so we’re quickly going to have to learn how to play with each other, and everyone will have to be unselfish if we want to go far in this tournament,” said Mangas.
Though four Purdue alumni will play for Men of Mackey this year, another Indiana Wesleyan alum joins Mangas on the Men of Mackey roster this year. 6-10 forward Evan Maxwell began his career at Liberty and Kansas before spending his final two years playing alongside Mangas at Indiana Wesleyan.
“We had two great years together, winning a national championship,” Mangas said of Maxwell. “We played a lot of two-man game. He’s a special player. He’s 6-foot-10 but can step out and really shoot it but can dunk it down low and has plenty of post moves.”
With Men of Mackey beginning practice later this week, Mangas is eager to get to work ahead of Sunday evening’s first-round matchup vs. Mid America Unity.
“I told (general manager) Ryan Kay that I want to earn my minutes to help the team. I’ve improved a lot over the past year, having to get stronger at the pro level, so I feel ready to have a bigger role this year,” Mangas said.
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