KU-Gonzaga game will be a reunion for former Jayhawks walk-on Evan Manning
Just a few days before Halloween, Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few informed his program’s newest staff member, Evan Manning, that he was working on a deal to open the COVID-ridden 2020-21 season against Manning’s alma mater, Kansas.
“He brought it up to me when it was in talks. I said, ‘Well, that’s cool,’’’ Manning, 27, told The Star in a phone interview.
The two college basketball powerhouses — who revealed hastily negotiated plans to meet in the Nov. 26-27 Fort Myers Tip-Off in a Nov. 6 news release — have tangled just once throughout history. KU beat the Bulldogs, 80-66, on Nov. 13, 1998 in Lawrence.
“I always thought about it, how there are a lot of teams we played when I was around Lawrence (attending Free State High School, then KU),” said Manning, a former KU walk-on guard who played for the Jayhawks from 2013-16. He is now a graduate assistant for Gonzaga’s basketball program.
“We played so many great teams but never Gonzaga. Of course my first game as part of the (Zags) staff, we are playing KU. I thought that was pretty cool,” Manning added.
The 2016 KU graduate is in his first year at Gonzaga after spending the last three seasons as director of player development on his the coaching staff of his father, Danny Manning, at Wake Forest.
“It’s going to be like playing your family, right?” Manning said of Thursday’s season opener between KU and the Bulldogs, set for a 12:30 p.m. tipoff in Fort Myers, Florida.
“It’s going to be weird seeing them, weird competing against that KU jersey but it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Manning added. “It’s going to be good seeing coach (Bill) Self and those guys (assistant coaches). I haven’t seen them in so long. They mean so much to me. I hope to get to talk with them a little bit — however long it may be — just chop it up with them.
“Really I’m just happy to have basketball back. I know they are as well. As weird as it’s going to be, there’s going to be a sense of relief and normalcy to being back on the court.”
Originally, KU was to have opened the 2020-21 season against Kentucky in the Champions Classic on Nov. 10 in Chicago, That game has been switched to Dec. 1 in Indianapolis.
Later, it was announced KU would play Boise State in its opener (followed by a game against UCLA or Seton Hall) in the Wooden Legacy on Nov. 25 and 26 in Orlando, Florida. After that multi-team event was called off, KU contracted to play the Bulldogs on Thanksgiving Day in Fort Myers. KU will play St. Joseph’s the following day, also at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
“It will be a great game, two great programs. We really are looking forward to it. That’s about the only prediction I can make (that) it’s going to be competitive, two great coaches going at it, great players,” Manning said.
Gonzaga, the No. 1-ranked team in the preseason AP poll, returns Corey Kispert, Joel Ayayi, Drew Timme and others off last year’s 31-2 team. The Bulldogs also bring in one of the country’s top point guards in Jalen Suggs. The No. 6-rated Jayhawks return starters Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji and part-time starters David McCormack and Christian Braun off last year’s 28-3 squad, as well as highly-touted newcomers Bryce Thompson and Tyon Grant-Foster and others.
“It’s a really good group, guys who come to work every day,” Manning said of the current Gonzaga players. “They have professional mindsets like all the guys at KU do. They have a goal in mind and are not wishing it, they are working toward it.
“They have a great work ethic. They are smart guys, great people. I take a lot from them. I hope I can help them out in some ways. It’s a great spot for me to be in,” added Manning, who assists Few and his assistants in the office and also helps out with manager-type duties on the court.
Manning was offered the graduate assistant position at Gonzaga shortly after his dad was fired after six seasons at Wake Forest. Evan will complete his graduate degree in organizational leadership in 2021-22 as he continues on a path toward a coaching career.
“Coach Few has been great. He welcomed me with open arms. He is someone I am learning from every day,” Manning said of Few, whose next win will be his 600th at Gonzaga. He is 599-124 in 21 seasons. “He has a different style than Coach Self and my dad. It’s really interesting to learn from him. I learned so much from Coach Self since I was in fourth grade when he got the job (at KU). I got to be around him and his family and see how he operates. Coach Self and his tendencies … not a day goes by I don’t think back to something he taught me and my teammates.”
Of Few, Manning said: “He knows what affects winning and coaches to that. He is super smart. He does a great job teaching them (players) and putting them in situations to be successful. It’s been awesome just to see how he does things.”
Few has turned Gonzaga from a mid-major into a major program. The Zags marched all the way to the 2017 NCAA title game before losing to North Carolina, 71-65. They finished second in last year’s AP poll behind No. 1 KU.
“He is a big family man, his kids are always in the gym,” Manning said. “He’s got a couple dogs he brings around. He’s really a great person. He takes great pride in the university and the people who represent the program.”
Manning said he also learned a lot working for his dad the past three seasons. Wake Forest, of course, plays in the rugged ACC. Danny Manning has not yet announced his future plans.
“Basketball-wise it’s similar to the Big 12 where every night you are going against some pros,” Manning said of the ACC. “That was not a wake-up call but as a coach you understand how important each game is. I had awesome mentors. It was a great situation for me to start my career and learn from great coaches.”
Manning said he’s decided on coaching as a profession. He is a natural, according to KU assistant coach Kurtis Townsend, who coached Evan four years at KU and knew him before that as well, with Evan’s dad on staff with Self’s Jayhawks for nine seasons. Danny Manning led KU as a player during the 1988 NCAA title season and was an assistant coach on Self’s 2008 NCAA title coaching staff.
“Evan was around the office so much being so close to his dad, then playing here four years and learning as much as he did under coach Self ... he learned a lot at a young age,” Townsend said. “He went on and did a great job with his dad at Wake Forest.
“I think his future is bright. He has a great mind. He’s able to relate to athletes well. He will be a really good salesman and ambassador for any university he’s at. He is a people person which will help him in recruiting,” Townsend added.
Townsend noted that Manning is currently in a great spot at Gonzaga.
“Being around Coach Few will help him become even more well-rounded and ready to be part of any program because of all the work he’s done with different programs as a player and coach,” Townsend stated.
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 11:19 AM with the headline "KU-Gonzaga game will be a reunion for former Jayhawks walk-on Evan Manning."
