Greg Mangano surrounded by campers
at Notre Dame-West Haven basketball camp

Yale graduate Greg Mangano has signed a professional contract with Antalya of the Beko Turkish Basketball League.

“It’s exciting,” Mangano said. “I did some research on the area, and it’s right on the coast and supposed to be very nice.

“I’m also playing professional ball so that’s exciting.”

Mangano set Yale’s all-time record for blocked shots and finished among the school’s all-time leaders in several categories. The 23-year-old from Orange averaged 18.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game his senior year, earning first-team All-Ivy honors.

Mangano boosted his pro stock with a solid stint at the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament where he averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 block.

But despite the accolades and solid tryouts with several NBA teams he went undrafted in the NBA draft a couple of weeks ago.

“My agent said that if I was European, I would have been drafted 50th,” Mangano said. “It’s kind of disappointing, but without a doubt the NBA still doesn’t respect the level of competition in the Ivy League.

“Then again I had my best games (numbers-wise) against Florida and Wake Forest.”

Mangano said he feels that he was “just as good or even better than several players picked in the final dozen NBA selections.”

Said Mangano: “The NBA has always been the goal and is still the goal. I have to go over to Turkey and have a good year to prove that I can play against good competition. I just can’t have an average year there. I don’t have to average 22 points and 14 rebounds, but I also can’t score 10 points and grab four rebounds. They also want me to put more weight on, which has always been the case.

“Playing in the NBA summer league was still a possibility, but then I got this offer and I felt it was the best for me,” he said. “I could have stayed home and played in the NBA D-League, and I had some very intriguing offers, but I feel that this will be a great place to start (my professional career).”

Mangano, a 6-10 post player with great range, will join a league with a solid American presence. Antalya finished 13th last season in the 16-team league featuring a backcourt of former Villanova stars Scott Reynolds and Corey Fisher.

The Beko League is regarded as one of the top professional leagues in Europe and the same league that tried to lure Kobe Bryant during last year’s NBA strike.

Antalya also signed Seton Hall guard Jordan Theodore last week and had been eyeing a deal with the Pirates’ Herb Pope.

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