For many young boys, their dream career is to become a professional sports star. One of the fastest-growing sports in the entire world is basketball, so there are certainly many kids who have dreams of playing in the NBA.
- Marcus Mann Becomes A Man As He Becomes A Star College Player
- Mann Gets Drafted Into The NBA But Suddenly Leaves To Find His True Meaning In Life
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This was the dream of a young boy named Marcus Mann from Carthage, Mississippi. Mann would take this up a notch in high school, where he was named a top-five basketball player in the state of Mississippi for his play at South Leake High School.
Marcus Mann Becomes A Man As He Becomes A Star College Player
Marcus Mann had a stellar high school basketball career. After high school was over, Mann would start his college basketball career at East Central Community College, where he was awarded a scholarship.
Mann played two years at East Central Community College, where he averaged around 21 points and 12 rebounds per game. After his two years at East Central Community College, Mann would transfer to Mississippi Valley State University, where he’d finish his last two years of college.
At Mississippi Valley State University, Mann played in 56 games averaging 19.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. As a senior, Mann averaged 21.7 points and 13.6 rebounds per game while leading Mississippi Valley State University to a 22-7 record.
This 22-7 record by Mississippi Valley State University gave them a share of the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular (SWAC) season title, which they shared with Jackson State University. Mann would lead Mississippi Valley State University to become the SWAC Tournament champions and earned Mississippi Valley State University’s third-ever berth into the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Even though Mississippi Valley State University would lose 93-56 against Georgetown University in the tournament’s first round, Mann was still named SWAC Player of the Year. So, Mann still had an incredible season.
Mann’s great play led Southwestern Athletic Conference to induct him into the SWAC Hall of Fame on December 17, 2021. His play would also lead to every Hooper’s dream, to have the NBA calling his name.
Mann Gets Drafted Into The NBA But Suddenly Leaves To Find His True Meaning In Life
The 1996 NBA Draft was a special time for Mann, even though teams weren’t necessarily begging for his services. The Golden State Warriors ended up selecting Mann with the 40th overall pick in the second round.
Despite the late pick, being selected by an NBA team is something special. It no doubt must have felt special for Mann, but suddenly something happened. Shortly after the start of the season, Mann’s love for the game and the desire to play faded as he saw his calling in life as something entirely different.
This was indeed a strange situation. Mann played great basketball, not only in the Warriors’ training camp but also in their preseason games. His play was so impressive that the Warriors’ staff told him he would earn a spot on the team.
This wasn’t what Mann wanted all of a sudden. Mann, who grew up in a religious household, where his family was regulars at the Jones Chapel Baptist in Carthage.
“My grandmother was a die-hard Christian,” Mann recalled about his grandmother growing up. “She loved God, and didn’t mind expressing. I preached her eulogy, and I told them [attendees] I would go to prayer service with my grandmother when she would go from house to house praying. She would take me with her. At the time, I didn’t understand why she would do that.”
Mann realized just before his NBA career took off that serving God and spreading his word to others was his true calling. So, Mann left the Warriors and the NBA.
Mann didn’t want to make a lot of money while people were out in the world starving, not only for food but for the path to finding a relationship with God. So, to Mann, this choice was an easy one.
“My agent that I had at the time, when I called and told him, he was like, ‘Don’t you do nothing till I get there!” Mann said about his conversation with his agent. “I said, ‘Man, my mind is already made up.’”
The date was October 31, 1996, when Mann told the Warriors coach, Rick Adelman, and the Warriors’ front office that he was leaving the team. Ever since that day, Mann has lived in his small Mississippi town, spreading his faith, and he has no regrets.
Mann started his post-basketball career as a schoolteacher at the same high school that he attended. Shortly after, Mann found himself at Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, where he worked in ministry. This was his passion, not only to help guide people, but especially young people.
“That was the best time I had, because I was dealing with guys age 13 to 21, and the majority of them looked like me, and they never had a positive male figure in their life,” Mann explained. “To this day, I’ve seen so many guys, whether it’s in the mall or wherever, they’ll see me and come hug me and they’ll be like, ‘I’m doing good, got my own family,’ and they’ll remember something I told them. They’ll say, ‘I never forgot that.’ That’s something that basketball couldn’t do for me.”
Mann would eventually move on to become a chaplain, and then Mann would start a ministry at an alcohol and drug addiction center. Today Mann is a chaplain for Tyson’s Foods, and he still preaches at a few churches in his area.
Most NBA fans won’t know Marcus Mann’s name if someone brings it up. That’s perfectly okay because the people who Mann has impacted with his religious teachings will know his name. To Mann, that’s how it was always supposed to be.
