| WyomingAthletics.com | WEB |
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Pronunciation: Man-ZAHN-o 2009-10: Thomas Manzano is a talented guard who comes to Wyoming after an All-America freshman year at Garden City Community College. Manzano is a terrific scorer, which is evident in the fact he was the leading scorer in the 2009 NJCAA National Tournament. He will make an immediate impact for the Cowboys as only a sophomore, as he will replace some of the scoring that the Cowboys lost in last year's senior class. Before Wyoming: Manzano, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native, comes to Wyoming after spending his freshman season at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan. Manzano had a terrific freshman season at Garden City, as he helped guide his team to a sixth place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. The Broncbusters won the Region VI Championship for the first time since 1956 and Manzano was the MVP of the regional tournament. He averaged 18.5 points a game in the Region VI Tournament. Manzano had a terrific showing at the NJCAA National Championships and was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 26.0 points a game in the tournament. By scoring 104 total points in the tournament, he led all players in scoring. That included a 38-point performance in Garden City's opening round win. Following the season, Manzano was selected as an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American. He led Garden City in both scoring and rebounding with respective averages of 16.2 and 6.0 per game. Prior to enrolling at Garden City, Manzano played with current Cowboy Afam Muojeke at Genesis One, a prep school in Mendenhall, Miss. He then spent the fall of 2006 at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., where he played with Michael Beasley, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Following prep school, Manzano initially went to Iowa Western but transferred to Garden City where he sat out and used his redshirt year. Manzano is the third New York City native to play at Wyoming under Heath Schroyer's tenure. The others are Tyson Johnson, a Long Island native, and Muojeke, who hails from Queens. Manzano was also recruited by LSU, Tennessee, UMass, Mississippi State and Nebraska. Personal: Manzano was born on July 29, 1987. He is the son of Maria Manzano and has two brothers, Donald and Michael, and a sister, Divina. Manzano is majoring in social sciences. Manzano and Muojeke have a long standing friendship. The two became friends when they were on the same basketball team in eighth grade, the New York Gauchos. They also played together in high school as members of the AAU New York Sky Riders. Finally, the duo played together at Genesis One Preparatory School in 2006-07. |
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