Danny Manning was a basketball legend before his high school graduation commenced. His father, Ed, played professionally in the NBA and ABA. The younger Manning led Page High School to a North Carolina high school state championship his junior year. Once his father was hired at Kansas, the Manning family moved to Lawrence, where Danny led his Lawrence High team to a state title his senior year while being named Kansas Player of the Year.
Naturally, Danny committed to the University of Kansas and became one of the greatest college basketball players in NCAA history. As a senior, he led the Jayhawks to an NCAA National title. He was a one man show, as evidenced by the team’s moniker “Danny and the Miracles”. Manning left Lawrence as the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. As a senior, he won the Wooden, Naismith and Eastman awards as the country’s best collegiate cager.
Manning was drafted first overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Fighting through seemingly endless injuries, he still managed over 12,000 points, nearly 5,000 rebounds and over 2,000 assists during his NBA career. The two time NBA All Star and NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner retired following the 2002-2003 season.
He went on to a successful career as a college coach, becoming an assistant at his alma mater Kansas before taking head coaching jobs at Tulsa, and most recently, Wake Forest.
