SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Manning's turned his life around

Maurice Manning was on a long losing streak. He was overweight and, by all accounts, over the hill at age 22. He buried his basketball career so deep that it became lost in the weeds of the gardens he tended in and around Bridgehampton. Honest work, but he saw his future and it was in the dirt.

What light bulb went off exactly when, Manning can't recall, but he decided he wanted more than the dirt had to offer. That was the origin of what would become the key ingredient of Suffolk CC-Selden's 52-game winning streak and two national titles in NJCAA Division III.

"It really started with nothing and ended up something big," the shooting guard said.

Perhaps it was watching his dad lead the hard life of working on a farm for other people. "I told him I didn't want him to do what I have to do," David Manning said. "That is, work hard every day."

Once he knew he didn't want to deal with the dirt, hard work was still ahead of Manning. It would be different from the work he had been doing for a living. "Landscaping from spring to summer, saving up enough money for the winter," Manning said with a sigh. "It is definitely a struggle."

For all his accolades as a high school star at Bridgehampton, a high school diploma was not part of the package. "I told him he couldn't come here if he didn't graduate from high school," Suffolk coach Rich Wrase said. "He needed English and math. I said 'Mo, I'm not talking to you until you pass two classes. It's not about basketball, it's about college."'

Later that summer, Wrase got a call from Manning. "I got a high school diploma!" Wrase recalled him saying.

Five years out of high school, Manning had what he needed to play college ball by taking two classes at Suffolk. "I looked at the years he wasted," Wanda Manning said of the stepson she had raised since he was 8. "Now I don't consider it a waste, considering what he did."

The ability that once made Manning the top high school player in Suffolk was in question when he arrived at Suffolk. "He was fat," Wrase said. "He was 235 pounds."

To get to his ideal weight of close to 200, the 6-2 Manning dedicated himself to the treadmill. He was in this for the long haul. Driving every day to Suffolk, over an hour from Bridgehampton, was the first step. "It's not like living in a dorm where you can get up and walk right to your classes," Manning said.

Manning never saw his future at Suffolk. "Undefeated and national champions," said Manning, who averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 31 games, then was named MVP of the NJCAA Tournament. "You can't ask for anything better. I just figured to get in shape and play. I never envisioned this."

The ride to the top of junior college basketball was enjoyed by a 5-year-old named Charles. That's Maurice's little boy. "His teachers have heard of me," Manning said. "One teacher told my son she has a picture of me."

Manning's self-esteem grew wider and firmer than all those landscapes in the Hamptons. With his star in place at Suffolk, there is more to come for Manning. He is headed for Division II Kentucky Wesleyan on full scholarship.

"I have a lot of confidence in his ability to do what he needs to do there," his father said. "He's never seen anywhere else. To grow as a person, he needs to see the other side."

Manning has little doubt he'll be successful. "I've faced all the obstacles," he said. "Everything else is downhill."
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