By Mike Gilpatrick–

Redshirt senior Mangok Mathiang is entering his last season as a Louisville Cardinal. A member of the team since 2013, Mathiang has totaled 292 points, 348 rebounds and 109 blocks over his career in 81 games.  Known as a defensive-minded player, Mathiang ranked in the top 10 of the conference in blocks his first two seasons.

Because of his defensive capabilities and experience, Mathiang was pegged as a team captain in 2015. But then, life happened.

In a game against Western Kentucky last December, Mathiang felt a pop in his foot and had to leave the game. After the rout of the Hilltoppers concluded, team trainers  discovered that Mathiang had broken his fifth metatarsal. The injury required him to have a screw surgically inserted, causing him to be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks.

The injury soon went from a six-to-eight week recovery to season-ending. Due to the self-imposed sanctions that took away U of L’s postseason, head coach Rick Pitino decided to not rush Mathiang and sit him for the remainder of the year.

Fast forward to Nov. 1, Pitino said that Mathiang was almost all the way back.

“(Mathiang) hasn’t played basketball in a very long time when it comes to playing in a game,” Pitino said. “Even though he’s a veteran I think he’ll be a little tight because this is the first time he’s played since December. But he’s almost 85-95 percent back.”

For the first in nearly 10 months, Mathiang played in his first live game. In an exhibition against Kentucky Wesleyan, Mathiang scored seven and hauled in five rebounds in 13 minutes. Mathiang looked like the same player prior to his injury.

Mathiang’s performance against KWU surprised Pitino.

“We’ll give him off tomorrow just to rest a little bit, but he’s going to be ready,” Pitino said. “It surprised me that he’s this ready because we are very cautious with him and very surprised that he’s come along, in the last two weeks, as quick as he has.”

Mathiang could tell that it’s been a long time since he played last, but he was impressed nonetheless.

“My timing was definitely off.” He said, “I just started practicing last week. For me to just be in the game out there was amazing.”

Taking a slow pace back to the court, Mathiang is finally getting his groove back. Ryan McMahon said Mathiang helped out a lot from the sideline during his injury, but having him back on the court is much better.

“(Mathiang) was great off the court but it’s nice having our best leader back on the court. It just helps out tremendously, he can only do so much from the sideline. Having him back out on the court is a good feeling,” McMahon said.

Photo by Nancy Hanner / The Louisville Cardinal