Jump to content

Indiana Mad Ants

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ausdrezeg (talk | contribs) at 17:03, 31 July 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Fort Wayne Mad Ants logo
LeagueNBA G League
Founded2007
HistoryFort Wayne Mad Ants
2007–present
ArenaAllen County War Memorial Coliseum
LocationFort Wayne, Indiana
Team colorsNavy blue, gold, cool gray[1][2]
     
General managerChris Taylor[3]
Head coachTom Hankins
OwnershipPacers Sports and Entertainment
Affiliation(s)Indiana Pacers
Championships1 (2014)
Conference titles2 (2014, 2015)
Division titles2 (2014, 2018)
Websitefortwayne.gleague.nba.com

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad Ants won their first and only D-League championship in 2014. In September 2015, the Indiana Pacers purchased the Mad Ants and became the Pacers' one-to-one Development League affiliate.[4]

Team history

2007-12: Early years

In April 2007, the NBA Development League (D-League) announced it was expanding to Fort Wayne for the 2007–08 season.[5] The team was poised to be the first minor league basketball franchise to play in Fort Wayne since the Fort Wayne Fury were disbanded after the folding of the Continental Basketball Association in 2001. The franchise held a team-naming contest on their website where fans could vote on one of the four finalists: Lightning, Fire, Coyotes, and Mad Ants, a salute to the city's namesake General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.[6]

At the team's inception, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants were affiliated with the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. They finished the 2007-18 season, their first in the D-League, with a 17-33 record that put them in last place in the Central Division.

The Mad Ants added the Milwaukee Bucks as their third affiliate for the 2008–09 season. They failed to make the playoffs in their first five years of existence, ending each of their first five regular seasons with an under-.500 record.

2012-15: Playoff success

The Mad Ants added the Charlotte Bobcats as their fourth NBA affiliate beginning in the 2012-13 season. They made the playoffs for the first time in 2013, losing to the Santa Cruz Warriors in the first round after going 27-23 in the regular season.

After winning their division in the 2013-14 regular season with a 34-16 record, the Mad Ants made it to the D-League Finals for the first time after beating the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the semifinal series.[7] The Mad Ants defeated the Santa Cruz Warriors 2–0 in the Finals to claim their first D-League title.[8].

After the 2013-14 season, as many NBA teams were acquiring or exclusively partnering with D-League teams, the Mad Ants became affiliated with the remaining NBA teams that did not have exclusive affiliates: the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls, the Brooklyn Nets, the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Toronto Raptors, and the Washington Wizards. This put the Mad Ants' total number of NBA affiliates at 14 for the 2014-15 season. The Mad Ants made it to the D-League Finals again in 2015, but lost the championship series to the Santa Cruz Warriors in two games.

2015-present: Pacers era

In September 2015, Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) purchased the Mad Ants from owner and president John Zeglis and made the team the Indiana Pacers' one-to-one D-League affiliate, dropping the rest of the Mad Ants' partnerships. Brian Levy was named general manager by PS&E.[9]

In 2017, the Mad Ants changed their colors to navy blue, gold, cool gray and white, the same colors as the Pacers. Also in 2017, the NBA Development League was rebranded as the NBA G League following a sponsorship deal with Gatorade.

After spending the 2020-21 season in the NBA G League single site in Orlando, Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mad Ants returned to their home court at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on November 6, 2021, playing their first home game in the venue in 608 days against the Windy City Bulls. This game also marked the start of the Mad Ants' 15th Anniversary season.

Since the team's inception in 2007, the Mad Ants are one of the three G League teams to not undergo a name change, the others being the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Season-by-season

Season-by-season records
Season Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Pct.
Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2007–08 Central 4th 17 33 .340
2008–09 Central 5th 19 31 .380
2009–10 Eastern 5th 22 28 .440
2010–11 Eastern 3rd 24 26 .480
2011–12 Eastern 8th 14 36 .280
2012–13 Eastern 2nd 27 23 .540 Lost First Round (Santa Cruz) 0–2
2013–14 Eastern 1st 34 16 .680 Won First Round (Reno) 2–0
Won Semifinals (Sioux Falls) 2–0
Won Championship (Santa Cruz) 2–0
2014–15 Central 2nd 28 22 .560 Won First Round (Maine) 2–0
Won Semifinals (Canton) 2–0
Lost Championship (Santa Cruz) 0–2
2015–16 Central 5th 20 30 .400
2016–17 Central 2nd 30 20 .600 Lost First Round (Maine) 1–2
Fort Wayne Mad Ants
2017–18 Central 1st 29 21 .580 Lost Conf. Semifinal (Erie) 116–119
2018–19 Central 3rd 23 27 .460
2019–20 Central 4th 21 22 .488 Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 13th 6 9 .400
2021–22 9th 17 17 .500
Regular season record 331 361 .478 2007–present
Playoff record 11 7 .611 2007–present

Current roster

Indiana Mad Ants roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 12 Bradshaw, Pedro 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-10-14 Bellarmine
G/F 17 Hicks, Stephan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1992-04-02 Cal State Northridge
G 29 Jackson, Quenton (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1998-09-15 Texas A&M
G 24 Mangas, Kyle 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-04-08 Indiana Wesleyan
G 0 McGhee, Darius 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1999-06-02 Liberty
G 2 Payton, Elfrid 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1994-02-22 Louisiana
C 44 Tshiebwe, Oscar (TW) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1999-11-27 Kentucky
F 41 Vorhees, Will 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1995-12-18 Notre Dame (OH)
G 21 Wong, Isaiah (TW) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-01-28 Miami (FL)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (P) Prospects
  • (NBA) On assignment from NBA affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: May 28, 2024

Notable former players

Head coaches

Head coaches of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants
# Head coach Term Regular season Playoffs Achievements
G W L Win% G W L Win%
1 Jaren Jackson 2007–2009 100 36 64 .360 — — — —
2 Joey Meyer 2009–2012 115 51 64 .443 — — — —
3 Steve Gansey 2012 35 9 26 .257 — — — —
4 Duane Ticknor 2012–2013 50 27 23 .540 2 0 2 .000
5 Conner Henry 2013–2015 100 62 38 .620 12 10 2 .833 Won Championship (2013–14)
6 Steve Gansey 2015–2020 243 123 120 .506 4 1 3 .250
7 Tom Hankins 2021–present 34 17 17 .500 — — — —

Former and current NBA affiliates

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ^ Wiening, Logan (July 8, 2017). "Mad Ants Unveil New Look at Three Rivers Festival Parade". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  2. ^ "Fort Wayne Mad Ants Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  3. ^ "Fort Wayne Mad Ants Announce Basketball Operations Changes". OurSports Central. September 15, 2021.
  4. ^ Pacers buy D-League's Mad Ants to enhance player development
  5. ^ "NBA selects Fort Wayne for D-League franchise". The Journal Gazette. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on May 1, 2007.
  6. ^ "The Ants Are Coming!". NBA Development League. June 18, 2007. Archived from the original on August 8, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "NBA Development League: Skyforce at Mad Ants Game Info". Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  8. ^ Fort Wayne Mad Ants Capture 2014 NBA Development League Title Archived April 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Brian Levy Named General Manager of Fort Wayne Mad Ants
  10. ^ Warden, Steve (September 25, 2008). "TV plot bringing team to 'Tree Hill'". The Journal Gazette. Retrieved October 1, 2008.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indiana_Mad_Ants&oldid=1101553574"