Mad Ants’ Media Day with Keifer Sykes, Bennie Boatwright, and Gabe York

The Indiana Pacers G-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, are getting ready to compete in their 15th season as a team.

The Mad Ants won 6 of their 15 games during the 2020-2021 G-League season.

That season, Oshae Brissett had the best efficiency rating on the team with 21.2. He averaged 18.6 points, 2.2 assists, 9.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks.

Now that Brissett is with the Pacers, the Mad Ants add some new faces to the team and some that are familiar to the Indiana Pacers.

With the new additions of Bennie Boatwright, Kiefer Sykes, and Gabe York to the Mad Ants, I asked them a few questions regarding the upcoming season.

Keifer Sykes details his goals for the upcoming Mad Ants season and gives great insight on his career path to the NBA.

Sykes played for the Indiana Pacers during Summer League and preseason but did not make the team’s final roster.

Before he played with the Pacers for the Summer League/preseason stint, Sykes was constantly testing himself around the world against many different talents.

“I’ve bounced around and I’ve done that strategically – not staying in one place. I started in Korea, then I went to Turkey, to the Champions League in Italy, then I went to China, then the Euro League in Mulan, and just this past year I played on three teams, Turkey, Australia, Greece, and the TBT. I’m always excited to test my game and the G-League is another area where you have to test yourself”.

Q: Can you speak on what your time spent with the Pacers during the preseason and summer league meant to you and what is your mindset going into the Mad Ants’ season?

“The Pacers training camp meant everything to me, coming into Summer League – playing well and finally getting my second chance at a training camp”.

Sykes was cut just one week after his first training camp stint with the Spurs.

“Coming into this camp, I am a much better player, older with experience, a lot of momentum, and playing well. I just want to represent myself well and show this organization who I am and show them that I can win”.

Sykes noted that he even played through injury to stay on the court during the preseason.

“I hurt my ankle versus the Knicks, but I showed (the organization) how resilient I am and that was a great experience for me to see I can compete and work to get my skills to a level where I can produce on an NBA level. It was a blessing to see it manifest versus the Knicks, for me to get my first NBA basket”.

After getting his first NBA points during the Pacers’ preseason, Sykes has new goals for the upcoming season.

He wants to have the best season possible with the Mad Ants and show what he can bring to an NBA roster.

“I’m mentally conditioning myself to have the best season I’ve ever had. I know that might not transpire statistically, since I might have to sit and wait if a team calls me up but with all this experience I’ve gained I’ve been just trying to get as much feedback to grow my game as much as possible. There is so much opportunity here and I’m just blessed to be in a position to be this close to NBA teams”.

Just a few seasons ago, Sykes averaged 14.2 points per game along with 5 assists for Pheonix of NBL Australia.

Q: The Mad Ants are celebrating their 15th season this year, what does it mean to you to play for this team and what are you most excited to show people about your game this year?

“It’s special for me to be a part of. I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time, but it’s a challenge – I have to perform well and I love the challenge. I’m always excited to test my game and the G-League is another area where you have to test yourself”.

“I feel like it’s a good time to be here, especially with COVID, (the Pacers) are going to have to grab guys from here. I’m just blessed to have the opportunity because I understand how hard it is to even be on a G-League roster no matter how much experience you have”.

Sykes emphasized his excitement that comes with an opportunity to play against talent this close to the NBA.

He averaged 4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in his preseason stint with the Pacers.

Bennie Boatwright played for the Pacers’ Summer League team back in August. He would only play in one-quarter of the first game before going down with an injury.

What happened to him?

The injury was a painful one – a dislocated kneecap. This would sideline Bennie for the rest of the Summer League.

“It was definitely frustrating in the moment, not being able to play Summer League after a summer of hard work, but you move on and now I have a lot more opportunities to show what I can do”.

Boatwright played in 15 games of the single site season last year, averaging 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game with Orlando.

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants drafted 28-year-old Gabe York with the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 G-League Draft.

Gabe York is coming to Fort Wayne with prior G-League experience. He played last for the Lakeland Magic for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Getting ready for the upcoming season, I asked York how he’s prepped to get off to a strong start to the season with a new team.

“This happens in the offseason, for me, it’s been the last four and a half months of working, grinding, and getting up at 6:30 understanding what you want as a person and ballplayer. It’s really just adapting and bringing those four and a half months of hard work together and bringing it here”.

He emphasized the importance of veteran players to step up to be vocal leaders as the team starts their season with back-to-back games against the Windy City Bulls.

What does York want to show people this year?

“That (the Mad Ant’s) pick wasn’t wasted. Being 28 years old, I’m a vet now, and I’ve played in the G-League once so it’s a matter of understanding my role as a player. I don’t want to do too much or too little, but being a vocal leader of this team along with Justin Anderson and Keifer Sykes taking that role as well”.

“For me, I’m a ball-handler I like playing in the pick and roll, I know a lot of people want me to shoot the ball because I do that well, but I think I’m more of a basketball player than that and I was able to show that during training camp.

York averages 16 points per game and 36.5% from three-point range in his G-League career.

The Fort Wayne Mad Ants season opener is Nov. 6th at 7:00 EST at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

They will host 9 home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.