As a junior at Page High School in Greensboro, North Carolina,[4] Manning averaged 18.8 points and nine rebounds per game, leading the Pirates to a 26–0 record and the state title.

[8] Manning led the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title as a senior, leaving KU as its all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

In Kansas's 83–79 victory over Oklahoma in the 1988 NCAA Championship Game, Manning recorded 31 points, 18 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocked shots.

Manning failed to score even a single point in that game, and afterward called it "one of the biggest disappointments of my life.

"[10] On April 2, 2020, The Sporting News deemed Manning the second-best player all-time since the NCAA bracket expanded.

He played only 26 games as a rookie after a torn anterior cruciate ligament required him to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery, but he returned for the 1989–1990 season.

In Los Angeles, he played for head coaches Gene Shue, Don Casey, Mike Schuler, Mack Calvin, Larry Brown and Bob Weiss.

Manning holds the distinction of being the first NBA player to have returned to play after reconstructive surgeries on both knees (a feat since duplicated by Kenyon Martin, Amar'e Stoudemire, Greg Oden and Derrick Rose).

In Phoenix, he played for head coaches Paul Westphal, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Danny Ainge, and Scott Skiles.

Manning was traded to the Orlando Magic along with Pat Garrity and a conditional first-round draft pick for Penny Hardaway in 1999, and was subsequently traded to the Milwaukee Bucks with Dale Ellis in exchange for Armen Gilliam and Chris Gatling prior to the start of the 1999–2000 season.

In Utah, he provided valuable scoring off the bench, as the Jazz were on the lookout for veteran role players to surround stars John Stockton and Karl Malone.

He would average 7.4 points per game and 2.6 rebounds during the 2001 season as the Jazz qualified for the NBA Playoffs, where they faced a young and talented Dallas Mavericks team.

Manning became a key component of the Jayhawks coaching staff, filling vital roles in both recruiting and his work training the team's big men.

Manning recruited two McDonald's High School All-Americans, including the 2010 NBA first-round draft pick and Oklahoman Xavier Henry.

[2][14] In his first year, the Golden Hurricane posted a 17–16 overall record and an 8–8 mark in Conference USA play, finishing fifth in the league's regular season.

With the fifth-least-experienced team in the nation in 2012–13 and battling injuries all season, TU advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Championship and played in the CBI postseason tournament.

Wake Forest ranked in the top 10 nationally in offensive efficiency, averaged 82.8 points per game, and set school records with 268 3-pointers and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line.

[25] The team finished with only four wins and the worst season in modern history of Louisville men's basketball.

Conference tournament champion *Interim HC Manning has been involved with and served with the Special Olympics, NBA Retired Players Association, Advocates for Athletic Equity (AAE) (formerly Black Coaches Association), National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Boys & Girls Club, Kansas Governors Council on Fitness, Lawrence Community Shelter, NBA Read to Achieve Program, Sunflower State Games/Grand Canyon State Games, Grand Canyon State Games as well as numerous youth camps across the country.

Manning's own son, Evan, was a walk-on for the men's basketball team at Kansas where he played for four seasons and is a graduate assistant at Gonzaga, later an assistant coach at Army West Point, and currently Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Arizona,[29][30][31] while his daughter, Taylor, was a member of the Kansas volleyball team.