Kyle Guy (2) drives by his defender. Photo courtesy Noblesville Boom
REASONS ABOUND why the Noblesville Boom is replacement branding for the former Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Let’s start with the obvious: the Indiana Pacers’ mascot is called Boomer. And former Pacers head coach of 12 seasons, Bobby “Slick” Leonard, transitioned from coaching to color commentating while becoming known for the phrase “Boom, baby!” after the team made 3-pointers.
Noblesville mayor Chris Jensen, who has lived in the town he serves for the entirety of his life, has his own explanation, though.
“Noblesville was founded 201 years ago on a natural gas boom,” he says. “And we are a booming community, one of the fastest-growing in the Midwest. So there’s something for everybody in that name.”
Jensen also mentions the setup and possibilities of the new arena. The team will now play home games in The Arena at Innovation Mile, which sits just 2 miles from Ruoff Music Center, is close to Hamilton Town Center, and is a soon-to-be neighbor of USA Gymnastics.
The Boom played their first game in the newly opened, 3,400-seat arena on November 8, but didn’t win there until this past Sunday when they beat the Motor City Cruise, 104-88.
For all the excitement the Pacers charged into Indianapolis and beyond in April, May, and June, it appears that their injury-riddled start to the 2025-26 season has also impacted the Boom’s start.
“We do get the trickle-down,” says sixth-year head coach Tom Hankins, “If [Pacers players] are injured, then that means [guys get called up to play]. This is the first time we’ve had two of our two-way players get the call, and at this point last year we had probably played (Johnny) Furphy four or five games, and the year before Jarace Walker had played a bunch of games with us.”
The G League has its own draft and playoffs—the Mad Ants earned a spot in the postseason in each of the last three seasons, reaching as far as the semifinals—but each NBA team gets three such two-way contract players who can play for either the Pacers or the Boom. This year’s players being Quenton Jackson, RayJ Dennis, and Taelon Peter. Dennis and Peter were the two who played in Noblesville recently, and Dennis in particular looked the part, leading the team in scoring on back-to-back days.
“You see the potential,” Boom general manager Chris Taylor says, “but they’ve just got to develop a little bit more. So versus sitting on a bench as a rookie or second-year guy in the NBA, you have a chance to actually log minutes in the G League.”
One player who isn’t on a two-way contract but who has attracted his share of attention on the Boom roster is Kyle Guy, a 6’1″ guard who played his high school ball at Lawrence Central, his college ball at University of Virginia, and then was drafted by the New York Knicks.
After spending time on multiple NBA teams and other high-level teams in Spain and Greece, Guy appeared to be done playing when he took a coaching gig first back at Virginia and then again at University of Nevada.
But since putting his potential second career on hold to return to his first one, Guy has shown that he’s still sharp on the court, averaging just over 22 points and six assists a game. That level of productivity also landed Guy on the USA Men’s World Cup qualifying roster for upcoming games against Nicaragua, which means he missed the recent games against the Cruise.
“I haven’t gotten to spend a ton of time with him [yet],” Dennis says about his new teammate, “but from what I’ve heard, he’s a good dude and a really great hooper.”