GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – Danny Manning is returning to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Manning, who played high school basketball at Page High School in Greensboro and was the head coach for six seasons at Wake Forest, is joining the staff of new coach Kenny Payne at the University of Louisville.
Manning’s hiring by Louisville has been reported by WDRB.com and The Courier-Journal.
Manning, 55, played at Page before moving to Lawrence, Kansas, when his father, Ed, was hired by Kansas University. Danny Manning ultimately starred for the Jayhawks, leading them to the 1988 NCAA title and being named national player of the year.
Despite significant knee injuries he was drafted No. 1 overall in 1988 by the Los Angeles Clippers and played 14 seasons in the NBA with the Clippers, Phoenix Suns and five other teams.
He had coached two seasons at Tulsa before being hired by Wake Forest in 2014, where he compiled a 78-111 record. His best year was 19-14 in 2016-17, when the Deacons made the NCAA Tournament. He most recently was interim head coach at Maryland, which went 10-12 after he took over last season.
Payne, who helped Louisville win a national title in 1986, was a long-time assistant at Kentucky before joining the New York Knicks. He was named Louisville’s coach last month and recently hired Nolan Smith, son of his former teammate Derek Smith, away from Duke to be an assistant.
Payne is a native of Laurel, Mississippi, and Manning was born six months earlier, in May 1966, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about 30 miles away.
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