Top '08 Prospect Commits

Alicia Manning of Woodstock, Ga., the No. 6 prospect in the HoopGurlz National Hot 25 for 2008, becomes the latest in her class to commit to a high-profile program.

PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

There must be something in the air for the class of 2008 as another top prospect, Alicia Manning from Etowah High School in Woodstock, Ga., joined the growing list of early commitments when she verbally committed to Pat Summitt and Tennessee Thursday evening.

Manning has been on the Tennessee campus on numerous occasions, including the program’s summer camp the past two years, the most recent one resulting in her offer from the program. In addition to Tennessee, she visited Connecticut, Georgia and Georgia Tech, but felt so strongly about her decision she didn’t visit Duke or LSU before committing.

Alicia Manning

Many had speculated Manning, the No. 6 prospect in the 2008 class according to HoopGurlz.com, had her final five schools truly down to a two-horse race with Tennessee and Connecticut leading the charge over Duke, Georgia and LSU. Further fueling the speculation was the early commitments of some of her friends and club teammates as Maya Moore signed with Connecticut while Kelley Cain signed with Tennessee this fall.

Then there’s another layer - one of her best friends on the hoops circuit is Germantown Academy star Caroline Doty, the HoopGurlz.com No. 12 prospect. Just last month she surprised many by committing to the Connecticut Huskies.

“(Caroline and I) have been talking through the whole recruiting process,” Manning said. “I knew way before she committed to Connecticut that she was going there and she knew I was going to Tennessee before anyone, too. It’s nice to have someone to talk to that’s going through the same things as you are.”

One major factor in committing early for the 6-foot-1 do everything forward was the pressure of the recruiting process. “All the coaches are calling and texting you,” Manning said. “It’s pretty stressful. I’m sure about where I want to go so there’s no point in waiting.”

Manning said she wanted to be a Lady Vol since she began playing and watching basketball and she aspires to coach when her playing days are over. “I want to be a coach when I’m older,” Manning said. “And Coach Pat has a tradition of winning and is a Hall of Fame coach.”

Manning wants to precede her coaching days with a degree in Sports Medicine and, with her size, strength, skill and work ethic, it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s quite a few years after college that she hangs up her sneakers and picks up a whistle. She’s got the frame and athleticism for the pro game and she plays with great intensity for a young high school player. Her potential is seemingly limitless.

Alicia Manning

Her goal during her sophomore year was to get stronger and become a lock-down defender. Mission accomplished. This year there will be more pressure on her with Moore, her Georgia Metros teammate, moving on to the college ranks. The comparisons, since both are wing-forwards for one of the best club programs in the country will add to the pressure as well. However, the two are very different players with similar results - winning. Moore’s Collins Hill team is ranked No. 1 in the state of Georgia at the highest classification while Manning’s, who moved up a classification this year, is ranked No. 6. The potential playoff matchup is exciting in and of itself.

In addition to dealing with the pressure of notoriety and high acclaim, Manning wants to improve her range and continue developing her ballhandling skills, something her coaches believe she will improve on greatly because she works so hard. She’s still working on her dunking too. For a kid who plays at such a high level she is pretty modest about her abilities and accomplishments in person. She prefers to defer the compliments to the people around her who helped push her to become an elite level player. She praised all the hard work of the Metros coaches and directors Kathy Walton, Charles Huddleston and Matt Huddleston as well as her high school coaches Bob Westbrook and Rob Graner.

Tennessee is getting a wing who can defend, rebound, score around the basket and score off the bounce and, yes, she’s just a junior. Her Metros coaches love her because she’s the type of player that puts the team first and never questions the directives of her coaches or puts herself above the team. Her commitment and the speculation that Glory Johnson, the No. 8 prospect in the HoopGurlz.com rankings, may also be a Tennessee lean, makes for a great recruiting encore to signing the No. 1 class for 2007.

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