In their shoes: Manyang’s mentors help with big choice

When Deng Manyang eventually lands at college in the United States, he’ll only have to look at his feet to remember his time with the Adelaide 36ers and the teammates who taught him about professionalism.

At 17 and still in year 12, Manyang was named as a Development Player (DP) for the Sixers last July, coming in wide-eyed and eager to learn.

The athletic forward formed strong bonds throughout the playing group, but in particular with fellow forward Zylan Cheatham and former co-captain DJ Vasiljevic, and he learnt how to act, and look, like a professional.

“The guys all took me under their wing really,” Manyang reflects, “They all were pretty nice, they're all good fellas.

“I was probably the closest to Zylan Cheatham. He gave me a bunch of shoes. He spoke to me the most. Same as DJ.

“Those two were especially good to me but they're all pretty good to me.”

Manyang hit the court for his solitary NBL appearance against Cairns in December, just after his 18^th birthday, but learnt a lot by suiting up for several games at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre across the NBL26 season.

And while he would have loved more court time, just being with the group was a valuable experience.

“I mean, it's great because not many 18-year-olds are being a DP,” the humble teen said.

“It was good to observe all the guys and their preparation towards practice and games.

“Even getting on the court with them, I noticed that even a little mistake, it's a big mistake in their eyes.”

He also absorbed any and all advice on offer around his future, as he weighed up where to go to college in the US.

“A couple of players were telling me to go to a place that you want to stay for four years and develop,” Manyang explained, “because after college, you're going to become a pro anyways so you might as well go to a place you want to play and get the most enjoyment out of it.

“There was some advice around just playing, because being a DP, not playing much sucks, but it's the pros so it was going to happen no matter what.

“I don't want to go to college and sit. I want to play and enjoy basketball and play the game I love. So just playing, that was probably their biggest advice.”

It’s advice Manyang has taken very seriously, and he patiently explored his options - including offers from a couple of “big schools” - before he opted to commit to George Washington University this week.

Before he leaves the country, he will continue suiting up with Central District Lions in the NBL1 Central competition, hoping to put them in a position to be around the mark come the business end of the season.

He started strongly with 33 points, 13 rebounds and three assists against the Southern Tigers to open the season, ironically coming up against fellow 36ers Development Player Che Brogan, who is also off to college this year.

Since then, he has put up some reasonable numbers and in seven games so far is averaging 16.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Manyang loves playing at Central alongside his brother Magok Manyang, having debuted and played 16 games for the Lions as a 17-year-old last year.

 “I'm really grateful to Centrals,” he said.

“They've given me the opportunity to play from my first year.

"Not many teenagers get that opportunity in their first year when they’re still at school, so the goal is to play as many games as I can (before I go to the US) and go as close to the finals with them.”