CLIPPERS : Manning Has Sights Set on ’96 Olympics

Danny Manning, once an Olympian, wants to be one again, although he admits that his chances for 1992 are slim and that he is aiming for the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

“I sure would like to go back,” he said. “If I don’t go this time (next summer in Barcelona), I definitely want to go next time.”

Only two spots remain on the ’92 squad, and one of those will go to an amateur.

Manning, then just out of the University of Kansas, played in the 1988 Seoul Games on the team that also had Clipper teammate Charles Smith, then just out of the University of Pittsburgh. Manning called it a great experience, but the U.S. didn’t win that tournament.

“I want to go back and get a gold medal,” he said.

It wasn’t a sign of the increased violence in the NBA, just a way several Clippers and Lakers and a few other players chose to improve footwork and hand quickness.

They chose boxing. Not actual matches, but a workout in which players tapped their hands and put on gloves and hit padded mitts being worn by Keith Jones, the Clippers’ trainer, and Henry Hines, the team’s strength and conditioning consultant during the summer.

Olden Polynice, Loy Vaught, Gary Grant and Manning were the Clippers taking part about four days a week this summer at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. Byron Scott, Vlade Divac, Tony Smith and Elden Campbell of the Lakers were joined by San Antonio’s Sean Higgins and Indiana’s Reggie Miller, among others, for the conditioning routines that also included sprints.

Jones said Manning was the best among the Clippers, a favorable indication of his coordination, considering that Manning is 6-10.

The Clippers begin their eight-game exhibition schedule tonight at Chicago in the Bulls’ first game since winning the NBA title. The team then will take a bus to Peoria, Ill., for a Saturday afternoon game with Philadelphia, the homecoming game for 76er guard and former Bradley star Hersey Hawkins.

The Clippers will play four games on the road before playing Golden State on Oct. 18 in the first of three games at the Sports Arena.

Do not adjust your dial. That really was Benoit Benjamin stepping on the scales Wednesday at the Seattle SuperSonics’ camp at 268 pounds, only eight or 10 more than his best playing weight.

The Clippers could only have dreamed of that during Benjamin’s six training camps with them. He was known then to have reached the low 290s. With the SuperSonics already one of the most intriguing teams in the Western Conference because of their potential, reports are that Benjamin worked hard in every drill all week.