 When John Mantel came to Calvin he made an
immediate impact on the game and became a leader of
the Knights during his four-year varsity career at Calvin.
“It was quite an experience,” fellow senior Matt
Veltema said of Mantel and how special it’s been to play all
four years together. “He’s an awesome player with a lot of
talent and character, and I couldn’t imagine playing four
years with anyone else but him.”
Those who watched him play this season know he is a
force in the paint. This has been his biggest strength as he
has developed over the years. As a freshman, Mantel came
in and averaged 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds a game off
the bench and the Knights went 10-4 in conference play.
His sophomore year saw him crack the starting squad and
the increase in minutes saw a similar increase in numbers
as he averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds a game.
This trend would continue over his final two years.
Leading the team in scoring and rebounding, Mantel averaged
13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds his junior year and
14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game his final year. Calvin
finished 12-2 in the conference both of these two years,
winning the regular season title both years.
A two-time first team All-MIAA selection, Mantel also
led Calvin in blocks three of his four years, finishing with
117. He became the 19th player in Calvin men’s basketball
history to hit the 1,000-point plateau and finished his
career with 1,263 points, ranking 12th on the Calvin
career scoring list. A member of the National Association
of Basketball Coaches Division III All-District second team
as a senior, Mantel also finished with 680 rebounds ranking
sixth on the Calvin career rebounding list.
“I think in his time here he became a great example
to other people of what to be in handling setbacks and
positive things,” said Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek
of Mantel. "He’s been great in the locker room and a great
example of a student athlete. “Through his work ethic
and his willingness to make changes, he became an
outstanding player and one of the names that people
will mention as among some of the better players to
ever play at Calvin,” Vande Streek continued.
“Dominant would be a good word to describe John,”
added Veltema.“
An example of that was his performance in his final
game as a Knight—the MIAA tournament championship,
in which he scored a career-high 29 points.
“I know there have been a lot of great players at
Calvin, but I don’t think that we as a Calvin team coached
by me have relied on any one player more than we have
relied on John this past year,” said Vande Streek of how
unique Mantel has been to the program.
 Mantel received one final post-season honor as he was
selected to compete in the first-ever NCAA Division III
College All-Star game at the NCAA III Men’s Basketball
Final Four in Salem, Va. “I was really honored to be
selected,” said Mantel. “To be honest, it was a pleasant surprise
but it was also a privilege to represent Calvin College one
more time.”
With all that he has given to the program at Calvin, Mantel
feels he has gotten just as much back in his four years.“It’s been an honor for me to play for a program with as rich
a tradition has Calvin has,” said Mantel. “It’s humbling to be listed
among some of those other great names in Calvin’s history.”
As well as succeeding on the court, Mantel also can boast
of a strong academic record. An engineering major, he will be
working full time for ControlNet in Ann Arbor, Mich., upon
his graduation. He is currently part of a team of five students
working on a senior design project that involves modifying
a 12-horse power engine. The goal of the modification is to
decrease emissions and increase efficiency of a lawnmower.
Balancing time between basketball and engineering is not
an easy task according to Mantel. “Whether you are involved
in athletics or not, majoring in engineering is demanding,” said
Mantel. “Trying to balance both is even more demanding but it
can be done. As an engineering major at Calvin, I learned how
to make the most of the time that I had each and every day.”
Reflecting on his Calvin career he said, “I’ll miss the guys
on the team and also just basketball in general. It’s just a game
but the more important thing, at least for me, was just going
out every day being with the other guys and having fun.”
Read more about John Mantel, "Chelsea's Mantel has a slam dunk career at Calvin," from his hometown newspaper.
Calvin men's basketball Web site |
