MANHATTAN — Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang still doesn’t know what role Taj Manning will ultimately play this season for his team.
As the Wildcats prepare for their Big 12 opener this weekend, Manning’s opportunities have been sporadic at best. His effort, on the other hand, remains constant.
That’s why, with his team struggling in its final non-conference tuneup against Chicago State on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum, Tang didn’t hesitate to turn to the redshirt freshman from 6-foot-7 when big men David N’Guessan and Will McNair got into trouble.
“We needed energy, and I knew he would bring it,” Tang said of Manning, who responded with four points and three rebounds in a season-high 14 1/2 minutes in the victory. 62-55 Wildcats.
So what convinced Tang to choose Manning over true freshman Macaleab Rich or center Jerrell Colbert? Above all, a selfless act that, in preparation for the match, told him it was time.
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“This week, coming back (from Christmas break), Ques (Glover) was practicing most of the time, and so the practice minutes were reduced for some guys,” Tang said of the veteran guard’s return. Glover following a knee injury. “And Taj could have stood aside and sulked.
“Instead, he texted (assistant coach) Anthony Winchester, who had the scout, and asked if he could be on the scout team. So you have a guy , a scholar, who says, ‘I’m going to volunteer to be on the scout team and help my team in any way I can. And so, because of that, he was ready. He was ready for that .”
Manning, a Kansas City, Missouri, native who played his senior year of high school at Indiana, was the only member of former coach Bruce Weber’s final recruiting class to stay on board after Tang got the job in March 2022. Since he redshirted last year. , he tried to make the most of every possible opportunity to get on the pitch.
“My mindset coming in was: Every game, I never know if I’m going to compete or not, so I always try to stay locked in mentally,” Manning said. “I don’t want to mentally check and then my name is called, and I go out there and I stink up everything.
“Every game, whether I’m in it or not, I’m mentally locked in, so tonight if my number is called, I’m ready.”
It had been six games since Manning’s number was last called, a nine-minute stint in the Wildcats’ 100-56 blowout win over Central Arkansas on Nov. 22. In three appearances totaling 26 minutes, he had scored three points and grabbed seven rebounds. .
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But after playing four minutes in the first half against Chicago State — K-State trailed 30-27 at the break — he got 10 1/2 minutes in the second half and answered two big baskets down the stretch, including a thunderous dunk with a minute left to give the Wildcats a nine-point lead.
“Four minutes into the first half, it changed the energy,” Tang said. “The stat sheet might have indicated a rebound, but his four minutes on the court changed the game.
“He was ready. He didn’t sulk, he didn’t pout, he just kept working. And I don’t know what it’s going to look like for him moving forward, but I know we can count on a guy like that for the long term.”
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Manning’s contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates either.
“Not many people would offer to be on the scout team,” said forward Arthur Kaluma, who had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the game. “And for him to be able to go out there with the courage and unselfishness that he has, and then to be able to come here producing – plus-12 when he’s on the field – it’s incredible.
“I’m super proud of my guy. I know this is just the start of something special for him, so I’m happy he’s on my team. On our team.”
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
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