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For much of her three seasons at Syracuse, all-time assist leader Tiana Mangakahia controlled the game on the floor. But on Thursday, her professional fate will be left up to 12 WNBA teams with 36 picks between them.

Five Orange players have been drafted in program history, most recently teammates Brittney Sykes and Alexis Peterson in 2017. But none of their college journeys compare to the remarkable path of SU’s fifth-year point guard.

“She wants to go and do what she’s supposed to be doing already,” former Syracuse guard Emily Engstler said before this season. “And that’s going to the WNBA.”

Here’s where a number of experts believe Mangakahia may land in the 2021 draft on Thursday, as well as what impact that may have on her career going forward:

The resume

Mangakahia came to Syracuse from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, a JUCO bridge between her high school in Australia and the Atlantic Coast Conference. In her first eight games for head coach Quentin Hillsman, Mangakahia notched double-digit assists.

She went on to compile 736 assists in just three seasons for Syracuse, shattering the program record by over 100. Mangakahia missed her third season following a successful double mastectomy, and upon returning cancer-free to the court this season, she led the nation in assists per game for the second time.

“She’s just a really tough kid,” Hillsman said following SU’s season-ending loss to UConn. “(She had) every reason to quit, and she didn’t quit. She came back and gave it everything she had.”

Mangakahia also finished her SU career 11th all-time in points (1,341) and second in points per game (15.8). She’s been an All-American honorable mention in each of her last two seasons. Before the 2020-21 season, she was called up to the Australian national team, too.

The projection

ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel has Mangakahia going No. 27 to the Atlanta Dream in the third round of the draft. Fellow analyst LaChina Robinson said she could see Mangakahia going “late second or third round.”

“I just think there is an understanding that she’s still kind of working her way back,” Robinson said. “But she’s a fantastic talent, and I think she would have an opportunity to get into camp and prove what she can do.”

That would be a step down from Mangakahia’s preseason aspirations to be drafted in the first round. Robinson also said that front offices consider a number of unknowns, mainly if the 25-year old Mangakahia can return to her 2019 form as the oldest player in the class. Mangakahia said she felt like “a 50-year-old,” at times this season, citing the toll that chemotherapy, radiation and a year on the sidelines took on her body.

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Rebecca Lobo, another ESPN analyst, said that this draft class as a whole is “not as strong” as past ones. Whether that will help or hurt Mangakahia’s draft stock remains to be seen.

Indiana Fever head coach Marianne Stanley emphasized the difficulty of making a WNBA roster even after getting drafted, which she said are limited to 137-144 league-wide spots. But Mangakahia’s experience and “grit” gives her a shot, Stanley said.

“You don’t base your decisions or your evaluations on one game or one season or one set of circumstances,” Stanley said. “You kind of look at everything in its totality. And she’s somebody who understands how to play this game, clearly has a love for the game and has a huge heart.”

The skill set

Mangakahia is an above-average ball-handler whose court vision is second-to-none. She thrives in the half court using high-ball screens and can orchestrate quick transition scores.

The point guard is an accomplished three-level scorer as well, so much so that Hillsman told Mangakahia to shoot more frequently. She finished fourth on the team in 3-point percentage (34%), and the 5-foot-6 point guard has a number of creative finishing moves to evade bigs much taller than her. She totaled over a steal per game this season as well.

That said, all of her numbers declined from two seasons ago, and she turned the ball over nearly five times a game. Sometimes it was an ill-advised pass, other times the dish was so good her teammates didn’t expect it. And then there were the giveaways where Mangakahia was physically too slow, a stark contrast from the agile floor general SU had in 2018 and 2019.

“I don’t think what we saw this season is a full picture of what Tiana is really capable of,” Robinson said. “I think she’ll continue to kind of work her way back into form in the way we saw her play earlier in her career.”

But Mangakahia’s mental tools might be what expedites the calling of her name on Thursday. Stanley said via the WNBA Draft Teleconference that her character is a testament to “the fight she’s got inside her.” Robinson considered her basketball IQ “extremely high.”

“Even her 60% is better than 100% of the rest of the country,” Hillsman said after the UConn loss.

The impact

The Syracuse women’s basketball program is at a crossroads. The Orange just welcomed the No. 4 recruiting class of 2020, including co-ACC Freshman of the Year Kamilla Cardoso. SU has the No. 11 recruiting class in 2021 as well.

But SU has 10 players in the transfer portal this offseason, and the Orange haven’t yielded a season past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since Sykes’ and Alexander’s 2016 run. Mangakahia getting drafted would be an immense testament to Hillsman’s ability to recruit and cultivate under-the-radar talent at a time when SU sorely needs depth.

Mangakahia’s draft selection would begin another chapter after overcoming breast cancer. After SU’s final game against UConn, she said she wants to start her own foundation for those who can’t afford cancer treatments. She also wants to do more public speaking and become a resource to others battling breast cancer.

Published on April 11, 2021 at 9:47 pm

Contact Tim: [email protected]