Wake Forest hires Danny Manning

April 4th is a great day for Danny Manning.

26 years ago today, Danny Manning scored 31 points and recorded 18 rebounds in a 83-79 over Oklahoma in the NCAA championship game.

Fast forward to 2014 and Danny Manning accepted a deal to become the next Wake Forest Demon Deacon head coach. a part of the history and tradition of Wake Forest,” said Manning. “I am extremely humbled by this honor and look forward to being the head coach and competing for championships both on and off the court.”

Manning leaves Tulsa after his first two seasons as head coach. Prior to that, Manning was on Bill Self’s staff for over nine years. Manning accepted an assistant coaching position in March of 2007. Manning was 38-39 in two years at Tulsa including 21-13 this season with a 13-3 record in Conference USA. Tulsa lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to UCLA.  Manning, the former No. 1 pick in the 1988 NBA Draft, played 15 seasons in the NBA before turning to coaching. His son, Evan, is on the current KU basketball team.

“We are very pleased to welcome Danny Manning to Wake Forest,” Wellman said in a release. “There have been very few players who have had as much success on the court as Danny. He has played for and worked under a number of legendary coaches and he has been successful in his coaching career. We fully expect that Danny’s coaching career will reflect the excellence of his playing career.”

The first potential Danny Manning vs. Kansas matchup? Wake Forest and Kansas are both in the 2015 Maui Invitational Field. Kansas fans could be treated to a Thanksgiving dinner plus a Manning vs. Jayhawk matchup in paradise.

Congratulations to Danny!