Marcus Mann (basketball)

For the German footballer, see Marcus Mann.

Marcus Mann
College	Mississippi Valley State
Conference	SWAC
Sport	Basketball
Position	Power forward
Major	Health science
Height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Nationality	American
Born	December 19, 1973 (1973-12-19) (age 37) Carthage, Mississippi
High school	South Leake HS
Former school(s)	East Central CC
Awards
SWAC Player of the Year
Tournaments
1996 NCAA (First Round)

Marcus L. Mann (born December 19, 1973) is an American Southern Baptist minister who is best known for his time as a college basketball player for Mississippi Valley State University.

Early life

Mann was born in Carthage, Mississippi to parents Annie Mann Gray and Jim Banks, Jr. and was a very active member in his Baptist church while growing up.^[1] Mann attended South Leake High School where he was noted for both his athletic and academic abilities – he graduated as his class's salutatorian and was named a top five basketball player in the state of Mississippi.^[1]

Basketball career

Community college

Mann was awarded a scholarship to play basketball at East Central Community College. During his two-year career he averaged approximately 21 points and 12 rebounds per game.^[2] Mann then signed a full athletic scholarship to play his remaining two seasons of NCAA eligibility at Mississippi Valley State University.^[1]

Later in life, Mann would also get inducted into ECCC's Academic and Athletic Halls of Fame.^[1]

Mississippi Valley State

During the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons, Mann's two at MVSU, he appeared in 56 total games while averaging 19.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.^[2] During his senior season he guided the Delta Devils to a school record 22–7 record, a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular season title, the SWAC Tournament championship and MVSU's third-ever berth into the NCAA Division I Tournament.^[1] He averaged 21.7 points and 13.6 rebounds per game that season, and his rebounding ability was good enough to lead Division I.^[3] Mann was also named the SWAC Player of the Year and was the first player from MVSU to earn that honor.

Later life

In June 1996, one month after graduating magna cum laude, the Golden State Warriors selected him as the 11th pick in the second round (40th overall) in the NBA Draft.^[4] Between the NBA Draft and the first days of the Warriors' training camp, Mann's desire to play basketball faded away.^[1] He felt that he had a higher calling in life, which was working with children as a Baptist minister.^[1] On October 31, the day before the Warriors were set to open their season against the Los Angeles Clippers, Mann told the organization that he did not want to play professional basketball and that it would be unfair to both himself and the team to keep going.^[3]

Golden State released him, and Mann was no longer an NBA player. He sacrificed, minimally, the $220,000 rookie salary along with the glamour of an NBA lifestyle to pursue what he called his "calling."^[3] As of January 2011, Mann still preaches at the Sylvarena Missionary Baptist Church in Johns, Mississippi.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "Reverend Marcus Mann Biography". sylvarenachurch.com. 2011. http://www.sylvarenachurch.com/biography.html. Retrieved January 13, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Marcus Mann". The Draft Review. 2006. http://thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1924. Retrieved January 13, 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Killion, Ann (November 3, 1997). "Mann Trades Pro Basketball for Pulpit". San Jose Mercury News. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MANN+TRADES+PRO+BASKETBALL+FOR+PULPIT.-a083890704. Retrieved January 13, 2011. 
4. ^ "1996 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2011. http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1996.html. Retrieved January 13, 2011. 

Persondata
Name	Mann, Marcus
Alternative names
Short description	basketball player, pastor
Date of birth	December 19, 1973
Place of birth	Cathage, Mississippi
Date of death
Place of death