Player of the Week : Manley Takes a Shot at the Big Time

Tom Manley

Capistrano Valley High

Position: Forward

Height, Class: 6-3, Sr.

Last Week: Scored 26 points on 13-of-18 shooting and had 14 rebounds in the Cougars’ 74-70 first-round Southern Section 4-A playoff victory over Redlands.

Season: Averages 12 points and 8 rebounds a game. He is shooting 62% from the floor.

Playing in front of few fans on the junior varsity team last season, Capistrano Valley High School’s Tom Manley wasn’t exactly prepared for the pressures of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs.

But with less than a season of varsity experience behind him, Manley scored 26 points on 13-of-18 shooting and had 14 rebounds Friday as the Cougars defeated Redlands in the first round of the playoffs. Manley was named Times Player of the Week for his performance.

Understand that Manley’s big game came at Redlands, where the Terriers had not lost in three years. The student body had filled one side of the 2,200-seat building 30 minutes before game time.

Normally, such pressure would melt someone with Manley’s limited experience. But Cougar Coach Mark Thornton said he wasn’t worried.

“Tom’s a tough kid,” Thornton said. “I didn’t have any way of knowing he’d have such a big game but I didn’t worry about him choking.”

Said Manley: “I’m the type of player who has to be really pumped before a game. The whole team is like that. We’re not really big or fast but we just get up for the games and never quit.”

The 6-foot 3-inch senior forward, who averages 12 points and 8 rebounds a game, is Orange County’s fifth-ranked shooter with a 62% average.

And a good portion of Manley’s shots come from around the top of the key.

“I’m not big enough to just post up inside,” Manley said. “A lot of times I’m being guarded by guys bigger but slower than me. I just beat them to the outside. I have a pretty good jump shot from the free throw line.”

Only a handful of people saw Manley’s shot all last season while he played on the Cougar junior varsity. Playing in games that preceeded varsity contests, the only time Manley played in front of a crowd was when people arrived early for the varsity game.

“Tom handled it all pretty well last season,” Thornton said. “He had enough skill to be on the varsity last season but I thought I’d rather have him getting the added playing time on the junior varsity team.”

Leading the junior varsity in scoring, Manley made the most of the experience. But for one week Manley would have gladly given up his 18 point per game average to accompany the varsity on a trip to Hawaii.

“I was really happy playing on the JVs,” Manley said. “But then I heard about the varsity going to Hawaii and it made me think that I would have liked to go with them. I would have liked to go a lot.”