”Those times when you stay up late and you work hard; those times when don’t feel like working — you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself — but you do it anyway. That is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” — Kobe Bryant
Lowell Class of 2021 alumnus Christopher Mantis’ own journey can so far be described as both a dream and hard work.
Mantis, who broke the Lowell High School career scoring record held by Class of 1989 alumnus Chris Jusevitch during his senior year, was acquired by the Washington Wizards for their NBA G-League Team, the Capitol City Go-Go.
After being drafted as the 20th overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans’ G-League team, the Birmingham Squadron, on October 25, Mantis was acquired by the Go-Go in exchange for the rights of J.Z.
Zaher and the returning rights to Darryl Morsell, according to a statement from the Go-Go.
Mantis said his agent called him while he was out to dinner the Monday before the draft and said Washington wanted to select him. He said New Orleans got to him first, but the Pelicans traded him 20 minutes later to the Wizards.
And the first week as a professional basketball player has been memorable for Mantis to say the least. While one can imagine the pro game is a far cry from college or high school hoops, he noted right away he is treated like a professional. Mantis said they even use same facilities as the Wizards.
“This is your real job,” Mantis said, “and I don’t have any complaints saying basketball is my real job.”
Mantis starts his day getting to the gym around 8 or 9 a.m. If it’s available, he hits the training room for treatment. After breakfast, Mantis and the player development coach gets some shots in on the basketball court. He then works out with a weight trainer for lifting and mobility.
And THEN practice starts.
Mantis said they will play at full throttle for about two hours, after which he gets some more shooting practice in, then perhaps some extra lifting and mobility workouts as well. He then goes back to the trainer to make sure he can do it all again the next day.
After being cleared by the trainer, Mantis and the rest of the team grab another meal before they go home for the day.
Mantis spent three years at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina prior to transferring to the University of Maine for his senior year. He said he was seeking a different role and more playing time. Mantis said several schools reached out to him after his name went up on the transfer portal. He said after going on two or three campus visits, he liked Maine the most.
“They really needed a shooting wing/forward,” Mantis explained, “and they had a lot of good pieces coming from the previous years. (Maine coach Chris Markwood) said they really needed someone like me, my size and my capability and what I bring to the table, and I was all for it.”
Markwood said they needed a consistent shooter with size at Maine when they took notice of Mantis. He said the Lowell native was the piece they were missing.
“The year before, we had a solid year. We had good talent, which was going to be returning for the most part, but we really didn’t shoot the ball at the level that we had hoped, and it cost us a little bit. I think we won 15 games maybe the year before, and we lost like five or six really close games, and we were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in our league. We felt like we could make a big jump if we got the right guy, and we were very, very fortunate to be able to land Chris.”
To say Mantis’ coach at Lowell High School, Joe Delgado,had a profound impact on him would be an understatement. He said Delgado always had the utmost confidence in him from the beginning.
“He let me play my game, let me be a leader from such a young age,” Mantis recalled. “We spent a lot of time in that gym together, and I thank him for that. Throughout my career at Lowell, it was just all confidence built. He let me play my game, and I appreciate that.”
Christopher is the first former player of Delgado’s to go pro. He said players like him don’t come along all that often. Delgado remembers seeing something special in Mantis even while he was in middle school.
“You don’t get to coach players like Chris that often,” Delgado said. “He was special, and it wasn’t just because he was talented. He always had the commitment to the journey. He always wanted to get better. He still is that way. Even in the D1 college, so the sky is the limit for him.”