Manning's son will walk on to KU hoops team

Danny Manning may have left Kansas to become the head coach at Tulsa, but the Manning family will still be represented at KU basketball practices next season.

Evan Manning, son of the former KU great and assistant coach, will walk on the team next season. Manning, a 6-foot-1 guard, graduated in 2011 from Lawrence Free State, where he earned All-Sunflower League honorable-mention status as a senior.

He’s spent the past year playing at the New Hampton School, a prep school in New Hampshire. According to New Hampton coach Peter Hutchins, Manning started at point guard the first half of the season while guard Olivier Hanlan, a Boston College commit, was injured. Manning was limited to a reserve role when Hanlan returned, but still averaged close to double figures for the season.

“Evan is a kid that could make an impact at the Division I level,” Hutchins said. “So I think that he’s gonna be an incredible asset to the Kansas basketball program. He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever coached.”

Former KU guard Brady Morningstar, who also attended Lawrence Free State, spent a year at New Hampton in 2005-06 before attending KU on scholarship.