Nicholas Mantis (December 7, 1935 – August 13, 2017) was an American-Greek professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player.Nick Mantis
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on May 16, 2013.

College career

After having a standout career as a high school player at East Chicago Washington High, while playing for head coach Johnny Baratto; Mantis enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at Northwestern, where he led the

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

in field goal percentage as a senior. That season (1958–59), he served as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

, and led them to their best finish in the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

- a tie for 2nd with an 8-6 conference record, 15-7 overall. The Wildcats won nine of their first ten games, dropping a stunner to #5 ranked

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

-hosted 'Bluegrass Festival Tournament.' The Wildcats spent seven consecutive weeks on the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, and knocked off the

Jerry West Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability ...

-led

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Moun ...

Professional career

Mantis was selected in the

1959 NBA Draft The 1959 NBA draft was the 13th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 31, 1959, before the 1959–60 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

, by the

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, after a collegiate career at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. He played for the Hawks,

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

, and

Chicago Zephyrs The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, during a two-year

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

career. Mantis also played in the American Basketball League in the 1961–62 season, and in the

Midwest Professional Basketball League The Midwest Professional Basketball League was a professional American basketball league. The six–team league existed for three seasons, playing from 1961–1962 through 1963–1964 until the league folded after the 1964 season. History ...

, earning league MVP and first-team all-league honors, in the 1963–64 season.

Death

Mantis died on August 13, 2017, at the age of 81.

References

External links

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame entry
1935 births 2017 deaths American men's basketball players American people of Greek descent Basketball players from Indiana Chicago Zephyrs players Greek men's basketball players Kansas City Steers players Minneapolis Lakers players Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Shooting guards St. Louis Hawks draft picks St. Louis Hawks players {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub