A Tall Kid, a Big Talent : Transplanted Manning Continues to Blossom on the Plains of Kansas

Even Freud would have had a tough time analyzing Danny Manning.

“No, he’s not a Patrick Ewing,” St. John’s basketball Coach Lou Carnesecca said. “Patrick would go down and take over the middle. It was his. Danny’s more of an outside scorer. Although he can go down and play in the middle. You can’t really pigeonhole his game.”

Another coach produces a second opinion.

“Danny is like a 6-11 Magic Johnson,” said broadcaster Dick Vitale. “We’re talking center-guard-forward. The kid can handle the ball from the point and drive the length of the floor and create. He can also hit the jumper. I like him as a small forward.

“But hey, he’s so flexible, he could probably play point guard.”

Enter another analyst--Larry Brown, Manning’s coach at Kansas.

“Definitely not a small forward,” Brown said. “You don’t want a kid 6-11 playing 40 feet from the basket. Eventually, he might be a power forward, when he gains some weight.

“But his dad promised me he’d grow a couple more inches, and I’m going to hold him to that. If he gets taller and stronger he might settle in at the post.”

The patient, himself, blames a group of greedy friends in Greensboro, N.C., for his multiple personality.

“Handling the ball well comes from playing street ball,” Manning said. “You know, you go out and play with your friends, and sometimes everybody just starts gunning. Nobody passes. And the only way you can get the ball is get the rebound, go coast-to-coast and shoot it.”

In three years or less, Manning will likely be in the NBA.

Wednesday’s immediate itinerary called for an appearance in the gold-medal game at Sports Festival VI, where his North team beat the South for the championship. Then, he’s heading back to Lawrence, Kan., for his sophomore year and another season in the gym, honing, refining and developing his considerable skills.

“I don’t know about being another Magic,” Manning said. “He’s got a lot of pressure on him. At 6-9, having to run the point, take the ball, keep everybody in line. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. “But I like being out on the court facing the basket. That’s why this is fun. You can’t play zone, here.

“I get so much more into the game when I can move around out there rather than just being in the post. The NBA is a long way off. I can’t tell what position I’ll be playing. I might put on 50 pounds and be a straight up post man.”

Manning’s agility and quickness come naturally since his father, Ed, was good enough to play in the NBA and the now-defunct ABA. The elder Manning did nothing to influence his son’s choice of sports, allowing Danny the freedom to adopt or ignore his own passion.

But nights spent watching the Carolina Cougars left an indelible impression.

“I think it was an advantage for me to see and be around all those players,” he said. “Basketball is in my blood.” Basketball was also on the playground during the long, hot summers. While Jordan and James Worthy owned the asphalt of Gastonia, Manning built his reputation in Greensboro at Page High School.

“Back in North Carolina in summer time, you can play every day if you want,” said the 19-year-old public relations major. “You could get up in the morning, eat, go to the playground, come home, eat, go play, come back, eat and go play.”

After his junior season, Manning was regarded as a prize catch in the recruiting wars that are waged each year on the red clay of Carolina.

His father had been a college assistant coach for a time, but was then making ends meet by driving a truck. So eyebrows, blood pressures and a number of questions were raised when Danny, signed early with Kansas. His father was named to Brown’s staff as an assistant coach.

Right after the signing, father and son headed for Kansas, where Danny played his senior season at Lawrence High School. He was named a consensus All-American.

In North Carolina, Manning is viewed as a distant kin of Benedict Arnold’s. The hard feelings have gradually subsided, but Danny, hasn’t been back home since.

“It was a big hassle,” Danny said. “Because it was a tough decision between North Carolina and Kansas. I thought about that for a long time. I’m happy with my decision and I like Kansas. But I miss North Carolina.

“I’m going home to visit friends this summer. Some people were mad when I left, but not my friends.”

Many people suggest that Ed is riding Danny’s coattails, that he hasn’t paid his dues in the coaching profession. But every time Danny steps on the floor, he is living proof that father knew best. “His dad taught Danny the fundamentals,” Brown said. “Just watch him. He is maturing, improving all the time. But he had a great head start having his dad as a coach.”

Improvement does not come instantly. It demands dedication and long hours. Manning, however, is willing to pay the price.

“I’ve got to get stronger because if I do, I can do a lot more things on the court,” said the 210-pounder, who is working with weights to increase his upper body strength. “I also won’t tire as fast. I’ve got to work on my rebounding and going to the boards.

However, Manning says his biggest problem is a tendency to put his game on cruise control.

“It’s just not being assertive,” he said. “I did it last year during the season a lot of times.

“I don’t know why. I don’t know what it is. I just have to keep telling myself, ‘you have to be a leader’, and then go out and do it.”

Last season as a freshman, he helped lead Kansas to a 26-8 mark and a berth in the NCAA tournament. But despite averaging 14.6 points and nearly eight rebounds, he remembers the year as a disappointment.

“I missed the last shot against Auburn in the NCAA tournament,” he said of the errant 15-footer. “I think about it a whole lot. I just missed it. It hung on the rim and fell off.

“I dream about being on the free-throw line with time running out and us being down by one point. That’s what it’s all about. I was in a situation like that my senior year. We were down by one with 11 seconds to go and I had a one and one. I made them both.

“But the other team came down and scored to win.”

Manning laughed as he recalled the story, but at the time, the defeat was extremely painful since it meant a state championship.

On occasion, when he gets depressed, he resorts to roundball therapy.

“I love the sport of basketball,” he said. “I use it as a way to get away from things that bother me. When I’m upset or things are going bad for me, I just get a ball and a box (stereo) and get a cooler full of soda pop and go to a court and play and think about things.

“You know I meet so many people when I do that. Lots of kids come up to the court, and we talk and play and have fun. And just relax.”