Sports
Chantilly Senior John Manning Makes Appearance in Capital Classic Game
The seven-footer ended his high school career against some of the nation's top recruits Sunday afternoon at the 38th annual Capital Classic game.
Chantilly senior John Manning put his skills up against some of the nation’s top high school basketball players Sunday afternoon in the 38th annual Capital Classic game.
The game was played at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro and pitted Manning and the Capital All-Stars against the United States All-Stars, which featured players from throughout the east coast, including Jabari Hinds of Mount Vernon, New York who won the MVP award finishing with 19 points and five rebounds.
The Capital Classic featured a less-than-larger crowd than would have been expected. In recent years, the game hasn’t attracted as many of the top players in the area as usual, especially since breaking their ties with the Jordan brand after Michael Jordan wanted to move the game from out of the metropolitan area.
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Regardless, Manning was very proud to be ending his high school career against some of the nation’s top recruits
“It’s a big honor to be in this game," said Manning. "Obviously the U.S. team has some great players, a lot of these guys will probably go on to do big things so it’s a great honor to play with them.”
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The United States team dominated the Capital All-Stars throughout the game, coming away with a 136-115 victory. Manning had a tough match-up throughout the day, often going up against 6’11” Malcolm Gilbert of Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania who will play for Pittsburgh University in the fall.
In limited minutes, Manning finished with two points and four rebounds. He is ready to go into a summer that he will spend preparing for his freshman season at St. Louis University next year.
“The main thing is I’ve been trying to get my weight up, and of course, I’ll keep shooting and working on my outside shot,” said Manning.
He averaged close to over 12 points per game and shot 68 percent from the field for Chantilly this season helping his team to a Northern Region appearance and was also nominated for a McDonald's All-American selection. Manning was thankful to his parents, AAU coach Marty Small, trainer Alex Harris and Chargers' head coach Jim Smith for helping him acquire a division one scholarship with St. Louis.
