Episode 4.3 "Dominican Republic"
1st Half-(1:07)
Freshman Jonathan Mpanzu gives his perspective on the team's mission trip to the Dominican Republic.
2nd Half (11:26)
Coach Tonagel shares about G.O. Ministries and why the trip to the DR is so important in the culture of the program.
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Episode 4.2 "Building Blocks"
1st Half-(1:00)
Coach Tonagel and Kyle Mangas discuss laying the foundation for the team in the month of June and why deep relationships are so important in the program.
2nd Half (10:48)
Trevor Harrell and Jonathan Mpanzu share about how the month of June pushed them into a deeper relationship and the role that it played in their growth throughout the season.
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Episode 4.1 "Identity of 3"
1st Half-(1:40)
Coach Tonagel joins to talk about the challenges of finding an identity built on IAm3rd in basketball but how it can unlock potential in a program.
2nd Half- (13:07)
Seniors Trevor Waite, Joel Okafor and Evan Maxwell discuss a low point in each of their careers and where they were at heading in to the new season as team leaders.
Go inside the locker room as Indiana Wesleyan Men’s Basketball trades the pursuit of me for the pursuit of 3.
Following the 2018 NAIA DII National Championships, IWUHoops released a 22 episode season of a podcast where listeners heard the story of the season through the eyes of the players and coaches.
“Each year, it seems as though God takes us on a new journey deeper into the IAm3rd life and we are excited to share with others what happened with our team this season,” says Head Coach Greg Tonagel. “The response to the podcast last year blew us away. There were tens of thousands of downloads and we heard from coaches, administrators and leaders from all across the country who shared in our huger to trade the pursuit of me for the pursuit of three. This is only growing our conviction that ‘IAm3rd’ is the best way to live and to lead.”
As a follow up to season 1, the next season of ‘IWUHoops presents The Pursuit’ will air beginning on Monday, May 20th and will release every Monday and Thursday through July. Each episode will feature interviews with players and coaches talking about a specific part of the season. Over the course of 23 episodes, the story of the entire season will be told. Topics like identity, fear, comfort zones, legacy, last second shots, and worship will be explored from the real life experiences and perspectives of coaches and players.
“It is evident that we are in an increasingly ‘Me1st’ culture where leaders are trained to look out first for their own interests as they make decisions,” says Associate Head Coach Jeff Clark. “Based on the response to the first season of ‘The Pursuit’ it seems there is a corresponding hunger from leaders to hear the life giving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and learn how it intersects with something like a basketball season. Our hope is that by transparently opening up both the highs and lows from our program that more leaders will come to re-define greatness in their leadership context by making discipleship the driver of what they do.”
1st Half-(1:10)
Jacob Johnson, Ben Carlson, Evan Maxwell and Kyle Mangas talk about the National Championship victory and give final reflections on the season.
2nd Half-(17:32)
The entire coaching staff talks about winning the national title and reflect on pursing the IAm3rd life together over the course of a season.
1st Half-(1:15)
Freshman Grant Smith joins to talk about growing up in Connersville, a community that defines "Hoosier Hysteria" and what it was like to go on a deep run in the state tournament and be named an Indiana All Star. He also talks about being fearless in the national championship game when a play was drawn up for him in a key moment.
2nd Half-(13:59)
Coach Tonagel shares why he believes that greatness favors the fearless. He tells the story of where he first came across the concept of fearlessness, how it has grown within the program and the influence it has had on the team's success.
1st Half-(1:40)
IWU President David Wright, Director of Athletics Mark DeMichael, and Coach Greg Tonagel take listeners inside a gathering of the men affiliated with IWUHoops on the morning of the national championship game. They also share how 'The Pursuit of 3' is happening in different contexts of leadership all across the athletic department and campus of IWU.
2nd Half-(22:51)
Trent Dailey joins to share what IAm3rd looks like in a different context of leadership, in his case as president of a growing business. He also shares some insight into what he saw in the growth of the team over the course the season.
1st Half-(1:10)
Jacob Johnson and Kyle Mangas take listeners inside a meeting where the players threw away their fears and frustrations and traded them for joy.
2nd Half-(10:16)
David Osborn and Jordan Weidner join to give insight into what they saw as coaches in this behind the scenes meeting.
1st Half-(1:04)
Evan Maxwell and Joel Okafor take listeners inside IWU’s run in the national tournament. They share what was happening both on and off the court that was sparking the team’s success.
2nd Half-(15:33)
Coach Tonagel shares how over time the staff has had to lay down its desire to control the outcome and truly put God first and others second, and how ultimately it has led to more postseason success. Coach T gives insight into why he thinks it's so important as a leader to leverage key moments for greater growth.
1st Half-(1:18)
Former All American and current assistant Coach Jordan Weidner joins to talk about the teams focus during their run to a conference tournament championship. He shares about his own pursuit of 3 as a player in the program and how it altered the trajectory of his life.
2nd Half-(15:47)
Coach Tonagel gives insight to why the team collectively started to pursue joy deep in the season, and what he learned about the concept over the course of a few weeks.
1st Half-(1:12)
On episode 3, Canaan Coffey shared the disappointment of missing the Man's Club. In this episode, Canaan talks about the way he responded to that failure. By the end of the season, Canaan was one of the most feared shooters in the nation, and he discusses the role that hunger, habits and humility played in his growth. He also takes listeners inside a key conference game when he played the best game of his career.
2nd Half-(15:25)
Coach Tonagel reflects on watching Canaan's response to failure throughout the season. He shares how this team grew more than any he has ever coached throughout a season because of their buy in to the vision of pursuing hunger, habits and humility. He also gives insight into why his philosophy has shifted as a coach to believe that mentality trumps strategy, and gives an example of that from the season.
1st Half-(1:22)
On episode 6, Evan Maxwell discussed his journey, starting with his transfer from Kansas University to IWU. In this episode, Evan takes listeners inside his growth through the team's losing streak, all the way up to a key moment in his pursuit of 3 during an important conference game.
2nd Half-(19:25)
Coach Tonagel explains why he has come to think about the Christian life like a line rather than a box, and gives insight into how this has influenced his coaching. He also shares a concept called 'dream time' that has helped IWU players push their games to new levels.
1st Half-(1:15)
Kyle Mangas joins to talk about being in the zone. He takes listeners inside his mind during a game when he scored 24 points in a row.
2nd Half-(11:05)
Ben Carlson and Jacob Johnson share about being on the floor with a player in the zone and why they as seniors were so willing to give more leadership responsibility to a freshman as the season went along.
1st Half-(1:38)
Ben Carlson joins to talk about spiritual leadership. He takes listeners inside a prayer meeting where God spoke in a way that set the trajectory for the rest of the season.
2nd Half-(10:42)
Coach Tonagel reflects on the prayer meeting and gives his thoughts on what impact it had on the team. He shares the critical role that prayer has played over the course of 13 years building the program, specifically how nothing significant in the program’s history has happened without prayer coming first. He gives insight into how he would encourage leaders in every context to start praying for their organization.
1st Half-(1:21)
Coach David Osborn joins to share his journey from corporate finance into coaching, and what ultimately led him to IWU. After spending a year on the inside, he shares his perspective on the heart behind the success of the program. He also takes listeners inside the game where the team broke out after its three game losing streak.
2nd Half-(15:27)
Coach Tonagel joins to talk about dealing with frustration as a coach, and how he balances the tension of driving his players to be the best. In a culture that demands performance, how does he get those results without producing a performance-based identity in his players? He also shares the priority he places on inspiring his players to play with heart and passion.
1st Half-(1:09)
Trevor Harrell goes inside a players only meeting the leaders called after the team’s three game losing streak. He shares about the fear the other players had as they walked in to the meeting and gives insight into what happened behind closed doors.
2nd Half-(9:50)
Trevor Waite and Kyle Mangas go into more detail about the players only meeting. As one of the chosen leaders of the team, Trevor shares why this was a critical moment of the season for the players to step up. Kyle tells listeners what it was like as a freshman to get called to a higher level of leadership by the older players.
1st Half-(1:19)
Micah Davis talks about the team taking a trip to the prison in January to spend time with inmates. He talks about the fear of doing something new and out of your comfort zone, but how basketball is used to build bridges and deepen relationships.
2nd Half-(17:22)
Coach Tonagel talks about the importance of outreach opportunities such as visiting prisons or going on missions trips. He shares the importance they have played in the development of the IAm3rd culture, and why he would look for these opportunities in any leadership position he was in.
1st Half-(1:24)
Joel Okafor tells the story of his life. He shares about leaving his home in Nigeria at age 14, what it’s been like to not see his family for eight years. Joel shares transparently about some of the twists and turns along the way and what it means to be an overcomer in the face of real adversity.
2nd Half-(18:46)
Coach T reflects on watching Joel’s growth, and discusses why having an IAm3rd attitude when dealing with adversity positions you for growth.
Overtime-(25:00)
Coach T shares some practical insight in a response to Aaron, a dentist in Michigan. “Your program is a great model of putting vision into practice and creating a culture that anybody can learn from. Any advice/thoughts on resources to help cultivate that type of leadership?” Email jeff.clark@indwes.edu or #ASKIWUHoops any question to a coach or player for future episodes.
1st Half-(1:23)
Senior Jacob Johnson discusses mid-season surgery and what it was like to sit out and watch during the team’s 3 game losing streak. Jacob shares transparently about the doubts, frustration and growth that he experienced during this time.
2nd Half-(16:48)
Senior Ben Carlson talks about how he was approaching his leadership role during the team's slide. He explains the difference in perspective in the midst of adversity between a freshman and senior.
1st Half-(1:11)
Junior Trevor Waite takes listeners inside a player's mind during a memorable behind the scenes moment of the season; a late night weight room workout after a long bus trip.
2nd Half-(9:35)
Coach T gives his side of the story, and shares why it's so important for players on a team to be able to call out greatness in each other.
