Danny Manning has always been special.

There were the obvious basketball talents that locals got their first look at when Manning’s family moved to Lawrence before his senior year at Lawrence High School. After that, he joined the Kansas University Jayhawks, where his father, Ed, was an assistant coach for Larry Brown. This was back in the old days, when exceptional basketball players often completed four-year careers on university teams.

Manning capped his KU career by leading the Jayhawks to the NCAA championship in 1988 in a run that will forever be known as “Danny and the Miracles.” That tournament and especially the final game against Oklahoma showcased not only Manning’s basketball prowess but the leadership, focus and determination that now will serve him well as he takes over as head coach of Tulsa University.

The No. 1 pick in the 1988 NBA draft, Manning used that perseverance to fashion a stellar 15-year professional career in spite of being plagued by injuries. During that time, he continued to spend his off-seasons in Lawrence; nine years ago, he joined Bill Self’s staff at KU and lived in Lawrence full time, raising his family and being involved in the community.

Jayhawk fans loved seeing him on the bench, giving advice and encouragement to KU’s big men, but we all suspected it was only a matter of time before he would be offered an opportunity to leave. With the financial security that comes with a successful NBA career, Manning could have stayed put, but when Tulsa came calling, he was attracted by the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his father and the other coaches with whom he had worked.

In his introductory press conference in Tulsa, Manning promised to focus on having a competitive team that played hard. The vision he expressed for his team included some of the key traits fans have observed in Manning himself over the years: “We’re going to be respectful young men and humble, but hungry to get better …”

Lawrence and KU have been honored by their association with Manning and wish him the best in Tulsa, but we hope he’ll reconsider one statement he made concerning his new job. “We’ve moved around a lot,” he said Wednesday. “Hopefully this is the last one for us.”

We hope there will be one more move: back to Lawrence when your coaching career is complete.