Daniel Ricardo Manning ( May 17, 1966, Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is a former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant basketball coach for the University of Kansas Jayhawks. He is the son of former NBA player, Ed Manning. |
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Amateur career
Considered one of the greatest players in University of Kansas and college basketball history, the Lawrence, Kansas high school graduate left KU as the school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder after leading the Jayhawks to the 1986 Final Four and the 1988 NCAA National Championship. The 6-foot-10 forward set a Big Eight Conference record with 2,951 career points and won the Wooden, Naismith, and Eastman Awards as the college player of the year in 1988. In Kansas's 83-79 victory over the University of Oklahoma in the 1988 NCAA Final, Manning recorded 31 points, 18 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots.
For his seemingly single-handed performance in propelling the underdog Jayhawks to the title, the 1988 Kansas team was nicknamed "Danny and the Miracles" and Manning was honored as Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. A two-time All-American while at KU, Manning was later named the Big Eight Player of the Decade. Manning was selected to the last all-amateur USA national basketball team in 1988, winning the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Professional career
Manning was drafted with the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1988 NBA Draft and spent more than a decade in the league. During his NBA Career, Manning scored 12,367 points and averaged 14.0 points per game. He played only 26 games as a rookie because of arthroscopic knee surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, but returned for the 1989-1990 season. His most productive NBA season was 1992-1993, when he averaged 22.8 points a game and was selected to play in the All-Star Game. He was also selected as an All-Star the following season.
Continuing knee problems forced Manning to become a part-time player in 1996 after he had undergone two more surgeries. He won the 1997-1998 Sixth Man Award as the best reserve player in the NBA, averaging 13.5 points while playing about 26 minutes a game. At the time Manning held the distinction of being first and only NBA player to have returned to play after reconstructive surgeries on both knees (a feat since duplicated by Amaré Stoudemire). Manning was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1999, but played for different teams during each of his final four seasons in the league.
Coaching
He announced his retirement from professional basketball in 2003 and has served for four years at the University of Kansas as director of student-athlete development and team manager under KU basketball coach Bill Self. Kansas has announced that Manning will be promoted to Assistant Coach at the end of the 2006-2007 season.
Manning also currently coaches his son, Evan, and other 7th graders on his Adidas-sponsored MAYB 7th grade boys team, The Kansas City Jayhawks.
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