During Kenneth Mangrum's first season as an assistant on head coach Jason Hooten's men's basketball staff, Sam Houston made its third post-season national tournament appearance as an NCAA Division I competitor.
The Bearkats rolled up a 24-11 record, reaching the finals of the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy and earning a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. The SHSU men's victory over Alabama State in the CIT first round was the Bearkats' first NCAA post-season win.
A former standout player at North Texas, Mangrum joined the SHSU men’s basketball staff in September 2013.
Mangrum has spent the previous four seasons as an assistant at Angelo State.
“Kenneth is a very experience coach who, like me, came from a Division II background,” Hooten said. “He has experience working with student-athletes of all calibers and I think he brings a lot of stability to our staff. He’s a guy whose career is starting to take off.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree from UNT in 2002, Mangrum worked three years as a graduate assistant on the Mean Green coaching staff. He was also an instructor in UNT’s Department of Kinesiology until receiving his master’s degree in kinesiology in spring 2005.
Known as a defensive specialist during his playing days at UNT, Mangrum also led the squad in free-throw percentage as a junior and was selected to the Indiana Hoosier Classic All-Tournament Team the same season.
Prior to his arrival at ASU, the Waco native coached two seasons at Athens High School, including the 2006-07 year as the Hornets’ head boy’s basketball coach.
Mangrum and his wife, Leah, have two daughters, Brianna and Makaira and one son, Kendi
