By Noah Allison–
For all the insecurity that the 2015-16-basketball season holds, there is one component that can connect Cardinal fans to the glory of recent years: Mangok Mathiang.
A red-shirt junior, Mathiang is the last player remaining from the 2013 National Championship squad. For all that Mathiang can bring to the court, his experience and lived success may be his most invaluable trait for this young roster.
Mathiang, a 6-foot-10 forward and center from Melbourne, Australia, captains a team that is composed of 12 first or second year players. His fellow captains, guard Trey Lewis and forward Damian Lee, are fifth-year seniors who are in their first and only year with Louisville.
Mathiang finds himself in a position he has not been in before at Louisville, an upperclassmen and a leader.
“It’s fun. it’s really fun,” Mathiang said.
“I look at every day to get better. These guys always come into the gym so enthusiastic to learn and get better so the offseason was great. Now that it’s the season everybody is in their grind and just ready to be a better team. I’m pretty sure coach loves it, I know I love it.”
As a red-shirt freshman sitting the bench of the National Championship squad, Mathiang has played with, practiced with and learned from Louisville greats over the past few years. Most importantly though, he has worked within and learned Head Coach Rick Pitino’s system for over three years.
“Mangok knows everything offensively, defensively,” Pitino said. “Mangok is not going to be bothered by the crowd noise or things like that. He knows what he’s doing.”
Mathiang’s teammates note his experience.
“He knows coach more than we do so he’s kind of ahead of the curb with knowing what coach wants us to do. He’s a really vocal leader. He brings a lot of intensity, which makes everybody else better and play harder. He does a good job leading,” freshman forward Deng Adel said.
“It’s been tremendously helpful. Mangok just has that extra bit because he’s been in the system a while. He makes everybody gel together and work harder.”
Mathiang has an infectious and seemingly unflappable positive attitude. With his big game experience this positivity could prove invaluable when this young roster faces dire situations.
“Mangok’s the guy that keeps them loose, keeps them laughing, keeps them passionate,” Pitino said.
“He’s a great teammate. I’ve been playing basketball a long time and have had a lot of teammates, and Mangok is by far the best teammate you could ever ask for,” sophomore center Anas Mahmoud said.
“He picks us up. When I’m not having a good time he talks to me and keeps me going, he’s one of those guys that always brings positive energy, its awesome having him on the team.”
Mathiang’s positivity, experience and leadership qualities were never in question heading into this year. The actual question is how productive and consistent can Mathiang be as a player. Never having been the star or the go-to player before, Mathiang can’t just clap his hands. He needs to produce in order for this Louisville squad to succeed.
As a red-shirt sophomore last year, Mathiang averaged 18.7 minutes a game in Louisville’s inaugural ACC season. He started nine games, played mostly at the center position but sparingly came in to relieve Montrezl Harrell at power forward.
He was fourth on the team with 159 rebounds averaging 4.7 a game. Mathiang was by no means known as a scorer averaging just 2.7 points per game and was a 48 percent free throw shooter.
Mathiang’s career highlight came in the regular season finale. On senior night, Louisville hosted then second ranked Virginia. With 2.7 seconds remaining, Mathiang hit the game winning jump shot from just beyond the free throw line to win by one point. He sent the crowd, his team and the city of Louisville into a frenzy.
Mangok’s most notable contribution is his shot blocking ability. Last year he led Louisville with 46 blocked shots on the season and was ranked sixth in the ACC averaging 1.4 per game.
However, Mathiang had many inconsistent performances that beg the question: how much he has improved over the summer?
“Over the offseason I really worked on my footwork,” Mathiang said.
“After the season, Coach P told me, ‘You are going to have to play a different role next year. You aren’t going to be just a role player that plays defense.’ He told me to work a lot on my footwork and free throws. Everything else would work itself out.”
The majority of last year’s points in the paint graduated with Harrell’s move to the NBA, but Mathiang looks to increase his scoring average and become a different kind of player.
“Everyone goes through up and downs, and last year was my down. I couldn’t just stay down, though. This year I knew I had a team that was going to depend on me to be that leader. I couldn’t take no for an answer, I had to work for my team,” Mathiang said.
Playing mostly at center last year, Mathiang will bounce back and forth between the center and forward position a fair amount. In the inaugural scrimmage of the season against Bellarmine University, Mathiang started at power forward and had ten rebounds, seven points and 22 minutes of play in Louisville’s 71-55 victory.
With uncertainty in the air as to how his season will pan out, one must turn to the highlights and potential Mathiang has displayed throughout his career. One can question his skill set, but nobody can question his effort, eagerness to improve and the life he brings to this young roster.
“I’m the type of player that leads by example so when I get on the court I just make sure I leave it all on the floor,” he said.
“For me its just ‘Mangok this is your job. You have to leave it all on the floor. If somebody needs your help you give them a hand but if not just always lead by example and let them follow.’”
At the end of the day, Mathiang might have added a secret weapon to his arsenal: a stylish pair of 1980s retro James Worthy-esque sports goggles. If it worked for NBA greats like Worthy, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Amar’e Stoudemire, then maybe it will work for Mangok.
“Since I bruised my retina, it’s just one of those things that you have to wear to play the game. I gotta swag it out somehow,” Mathiang noted with a smile.
And swaggin’ it out he is indeed.
