Danny Manning's Head Coaching Experience 'Invaluable' to Kenny Payne

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There was plenty for Louisville fans to get excited about when the program hired Kenny Payne as the next head coach of the men's basketball program. Payne was a former Cardinal who won a championship in 1986, had developed a reputation as an elite recruiter while an assistant coach, and is underrated as a player developer - especially for big men.

The main drawback that came with Payne's hiring is that he has never been a head coach before. We will know in due time what exact kind of style he wants to run, as well as other in-game tendencies he has adopted, but for now, those are relative unknowns.

To help with the transition from long-time assistant to first-time head coach, especially at a blue blood program like Louisville, many fans speculated that one of Payne's assistants should be a former head coach. On Friday, that's exactly what he did.

Danny Manning, a former Kansas star who also served as a head coach at both Tulsa and Wake Forest, has been officially added to Payne's staff. He's the second assistant to be named so far, following former Duke assistant Nolan Smith, who was officially announced on Monday.

Manning's resume as a head coach is not overly impressive, going 78-111 in six years at Wake Forest and 126-152 overall including an interim stint at Maryland. But for Payne, who was hired back on Mar. 18, simply having that experience for a first-time head coach is exactly what he needs.

"It's invaluable. I can't put that into words. Not just his experiences, but the relationship that me and him had," Payne said at Manning's introductory press conference. Manning grew up in Hattiesburg, Miss., roughly 30 miles south of Payne's hometown of Laurel, and also vouched for Payne to get the Tulsa job when he left there for Wake Forest in 2014.

Manning's experience within the ACC is also a plus when it comes time for Payne to navigate his first slate of conference games this winter, but that aspect did not play a role in why he wanted to bring Manning to Louisville.

"Is it important? Yes. But Danny Manning as a man is why I hired him," he said. "Danny Manning as someone who can mentor young people is why I hired him. I never really needed to talk about the conference, that comes afterwards. I needed to know that he could love people the way he has always done."

Manning has already had some early conversations with Payne as it pertains to how a head coach goes about daily activities and other related ventures. Most importantly, he is eager to be a helping hand for Payne whenever he might need it, and feels that he can freely communicate with him.

"In any way I can help out, I want to help," he said. "There'll be times when 'hey, when I was in this situation, this worked' or 'when I was in this situation, this did not work'. Just share different thoughts. That's the one thing that I feel really confident about in who I'm working for, is being able to just hear.

"These are experiences I've had, this is something that helped me, this is something that didn't help, this is something I wish I would have done. I'll continue to throw those out."

Being a good listener is something that Manning says he prides himself in. Not only that, he feels that is part of a working environment that is conducive to success, due to the open communication Payne has with his staff. Payne told Manning that he wanted him to share "anything you have that you think can help with."

"When someone who is the boss, who's directing the leadership has that type of mentality, it just opens up a lot of wonderful conversations, and a lot of trust going through the whole situation," Manning said.

Manning also noted that it was "significant" for him to be on his very first staff as a head coach, and said he is confident that Payne will be a successful head coach.

"It's not one thing, it's the whole," he said. "It's who he is as a person. How he carries himself, how he interacts with the young people that he comes in contact with, how he teaches, how he motivates, how he connects, his relationship building. All these things just come together in perfect harmony."

(Photo of Danny Manning: Matt McGavic - Louisville Report)

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