1. rock chalk weekly
Written by Casey Craig
PAGE 1 OF 4
As the Kansas women’s basketball team
progresses during the 2014-15 season so does
one of its underclassmen, sophomore forward
Caelynn Manning-Allen. Despite the loss to the
Lady Bears early on in Big 12 play, one of the
positives to come out the contest was Manning-
Allen who tallied 24 minutes, pulled down eight
rebounds, scored six points and blocked two
shots. What makes this and every Manning-Allen
performance special is that she only began playing
organized basketball six years ago.
In a society dominated by youth sports and club
teams that begin at ages three or four, it’s quite
amazing the Manning-Allen never had the
opportunitytoplayorganizedbasketballasachild,
yet this is where Manning-Allen found herself
growing up. Instead she was introduced to the
game by those closest to her, her brothers, Cliff
and Renaul.
“It was always a part of my life, but I hadn’t had
the opportunity to play, because the elementary
school I transferred to didn’t have a basketball
team,” said Manning-Allen. “I kept myself busy
byplayingwithmybrothers.Itwasn’trealformal.
It was just shooting around with my brothers in
the backyard.”
When she began her freshman year at Curie
High School in Chicago, Illinois, though, she
didn’t start playing basketball. Her first sport
was volleyball, but once the basketball coaches
saw how tall she was and her athletic ability
Rising Talent
Jayhawk sophomore Caelynn Manning-Allen surges on in her young career.

2. rock chalk weekly
Manning-Allen started playing the sport that had
always been a part of her life and improving at the
game quickly.
“Once I started to get better at basketball and
once people started to recognize me for playing
basketball, that’s when I really wanted to practice
as hard as I could, so that I could go to college,”
said Manning-Allen. “At that time I was starting to
get recruited and I thought to myself, ‘Wow. This
is crazy. People actually want me to come to their
school.’ I didn’t think I was that good. That’s why
I wanted to continue to play so I could come to a
college as prestigious as KU.”
At Curie, Manning-Allen earned first-team all-city
and first-team all-conference in 2012 and 2013,
while being named the 2012 Chicago Public
League Player of the Year. During her junior year,
Manning-Allen averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds
and five blocked shots per game. It was during
this season that Manning-Allen recognized how
far she had already come in a short time and the
opportunities it would give her.
“It made me look at (basketball) in a bigger aspect
of everything else,” said Manning-Allen. “I would
be the first person in my family to go to a huge
college. I’d be the first to possibly go pro and
support my family. It really just opened my eyes.”
PAGE 2 OF 4
Manning-Allen wasn’t the only one to see her
talent and potential. Kansas’ head women’s
basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson described
how quickly the recruitment process occurred
once her staff identified Manning-Allen as a
recruit they were interested in having become
a Jayhawk.
“Weactuallygotinlate[intherecruitingprocess]
with her,” said Henrickson. “I went up and
watched a high school workout, because I
hadn’t seen her. It all happened fast because I
didn’t see her until September and she ended
up signing in November. With her skillset, size,
the burning desire that she wanted to get better
and her ability to be coached, I felt that she
could help us with her size, length, ability to run
and good hands.”
While she was able to dominate the competition
in high school with her natural athletic ability, at
the next level Manning-Allen would be going
up against the best players in the country week
in and week out. Add that pressure to the normal
transition a college freshman faces as well as
havingtolearnthetechnicaldetailsofbasketball,
Manning-Allen had her work cut out for her.
“Before coming to college, I hadn’t received the
(formal basketball) knowledge that I have
I would be the first person in my family to go to a huge college. I’d be
the first to possibly go pro and support my family. It really just
opened my eyes.

3. rock chalk weekly

4. rock chalk weekly
learned now,” said Manning-Allen. “When I got
here last year it was crazy. It was like a foreign
language to me most of the time. It was frustrating
because so many of my teammates came here
already knowing so much about the game that I
didn’t. There were just so many technical terms. It
was mind-boggling.”
Henrickson echoed her forward’s thoughts.
“Sometimes I’ll watch her play and think, ‘She’s a
sophomore in college; why is she struggling so
much with this?’” said Henrickson. “Well she was
exposed to it late, so she hasn’t had the sheer
reps over the years that most student-athletes
have had.”
Fromplayingballinthebackyardwithherbrothers,
to organized basketball at the high school and
AAU levels to today, playing at a major Division
I institution, Manning-Allen had many people
on her side to help her. She attributes her
shooting success to the guidance of assistant
coach Katie O’Connor. Through 16 games this
season Manning-Allen is averaging two more
minutes, one more rebound and is shooting
21.2 percent better than her freshman year
(2013-14).
In the weight room, Manning-Allen works with
strength and conditioning coaches Andrea
Hudy and Glenn Cain, Jr., to get stronger
physically in order to go up against other
forwards around the league and country. The
most helpful though, have been those who
introduced her to the game-- her family.
PAGE 3 OF 4

5. rock chalk weekly

6. rock chalk weekly
“They have always been in my corner supporting
me. They tried as much as they could to make me
better and tougher,” said Manning-Allen. “The
times that I do workout with my brothers they are
really hard on me, which I feel has made me better,
too.”
It’s this work ethic and desire to succeed that
convinced Henrickson and her staff to take a
chance on Manning-Allen even though she lacked
experience. In turn, the 6-foot-4 forward is taking
every opportunity she can to improve herself and
Henrickson notices.
“She recognizes and understands that there are
things she wasn’t exposed to until late in life and
that she hasn’t played as long,” Henrickson
explained. “She also understands the focus
she needs, in ‘If I haven’t been exposed to this
as much, it will not be as natural and my habits
won’t be as good.’ From an effort and energy
and passion for the game (standpoint), I think
all of those are really positive for her.”
The burning desire that Henrickson described
in Manning-Allen has been the one of the main
factors to Manning-Allen’s success so far in her
young relatively new basketball career. It’s how
she connected with her family. Her raw talent,
paired with continued guidance and hard work,
the sport could ultimately allow her to take her
life in any direction she wants.
“At first I played [basketball] because it was
something that was really fun. And it was
something to keep me out of trouble,” Manning-
Allen concluded. “But now that I’ve been at KU,
I’ve had the opportunity to see so many things,
have so many doors opened for me. I feel like
‘this’ gets me mentally prepared for what I’m
going to be facing when I go into the real world,
off the court. Even if I decide to play basketball
professionally, I feel like this experience is going
to make me a better person. It has humbled
me a lot.”
PAGE 4 OF 4
At first I played [basketball] because it was something that was
really fun. And it was something to keep me out of trouble. But now
that I’ve been at KU, I’ve had the opportunity to see so many things,
have so many doors opened for me.

7. rock chalk weekly