Danny Manning still recalls those first impressions of Tad Boyle.
Manning practically was on his way to stardom already when he arrived at Kansas in the fall of 1984. Boyle, on the other hand, never quite found stardom as a player, but heading into the 1984-85 season he was a widely respected senior leader for the Jayhawks.
Boyle eventually found his niche as a coach, while Manning embarked on a career highlighted by the 1988 national championship at KU, becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 1988 draft, and a lengthy NBA career.
The former Jayhawks are reunited once again in Boulder. Earlier this year, Boyle hired Manning to take over an assistant coach role vacated by Rick Ray following last season. A veteran coach with 18 seasons on the sideline, Manning says he’s feeling rejuvenated by the new challenge.
“He was always a coach on the floor,” Manning recalled about Boyle. “We gave him the nickname ‘Cap,’ the younger players, because of his leadership. Because of the way he saw the game. It’s easy to follow someone when you know their spirit is good. It’s a little easier to put your ego to the side when you know somebody has a good spirit in them as opposed to maybe one that’s not coming from as pure of a place. When you have a good spirit about you, you can say things to your teammates, maybe in a more aggressive manner — which happens in competitive play — those types of things are a lot of the things I picked up from Tad.
“He can get on you. He will challenge you. He’ll hold you accountable. But the same flip side, you can say something to him too. He’s very accommodating and wanting to understand and listen to everyone out on the court.”
Once Manning’s playing career ended, he joined Bill Self’s original staff at KU, eventually getting promoted to assistant coach in 2007. Manning won the Conference USA Coach of the Year honor at Tulsa for the 2013-14 season while leading the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. Manning spent six seasons as the head coach at Wake Forest and served as the interim head coach at Maryland when Mark Turgeon, another Boyle confidant, resigned early in the 2021-22 season.
Most recently, Manning worked at Louisville before joining his old teammate in Boulder.
“Danny brings, No. 1, experience. He brings great experience as a player, but also as a coach,” Boyle said. “Having coached at Kansas with Bill Self. Being the head coach at Tulsa and the head coach at Wake Forest. He was with Mark Turgeon at Maryland. Was with Kenny Payne recently at Louisville. So he’s had a lot of experience coaching in different leagues. He knows the game.
“Not all great players are great coaches. Danny was a great player, but he’s a great coach. He can communicate with the kids. He loves the game. He doesn’t feel like the game owes him anything. When we talked about him coming on board I asked him ‘Why do you want to still coach?’ He said ‘I just want to help impart wisdom and have a positive effect on young men’s lives.’ What a great answer. He brings a lot to the table.”
Manning brings an NBA pedigree to a staff that has weathered a relatively low level of turnover during Boyle’s 15 seasons. Associate head coach Mike Rohn has been with Boyle throughout his CU tenure. Assistant Bill Grier is going into his ninth season. Boyle and Manning did work together in the summer of 2017 as assistants under John Calipari for the USA Basketball U19 World Cup team, but the 2024-25 campaign will mark exactly 40 years since Boyle and Manning last went through a basketball season together.
“Whenever a coach has been at one place the amount of time that Tad’s been here, they’re doing something right,” Manning said. “For me, it’s also a chance to come in and learn from Tad, learn from the staff that’s been here a while and continue to work on my craft. At the end of the day, I just want to share the blessings that have been bestowed upon me with the guys I come in contact with in some shape or form.”
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