Manning on Pins and Needles With Son on the Line

Ed Manning felt like a coach and Darnelle Manning felt like a mom when Danny Manning went to the free throw line to decide the NCAA championship.

Manning, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, made four free throws in the final 14 seconds Monday night, giving Kansas an 83-79 victory over Oklahoma.

“I was whispering for him to take his time and relax,” said Darnelle, Danny Manning’s mother. “I almost felt as if he could hear me.”

On the bench as Manning’s career played out its final seconds was father Ed Manning, a Jayhawk assistant, who made a mighty effort in the postgame frenzy to act like a coach and not a father.

“I just wanted Danny to make those free throws,” said the elder Manning, who played professionally for Kansas Coach Larry Brown in the American Basketball Assn.

“I guess I felt like a coach at that moment. Everything we planned, everything we dreamed about, was right there and Danny got it done for us. About halfway through this season, we didn’t even think we would be in the tournament. Now, look at all this.”