Giving NCAA Experience Its Due Credit, NBA Star Credits Clippers Career to College Struggles: “I Was Just Living”

The NBA stars work through sweat and blood and toil hard to perform their best at the highest level. But fans as spectators often forget that their attitude was shaped in their growing up years. Thus, college basketball is where they develop a competitive spirit for outperforming their opponents. One such NBA star recently didn’t mince any words in giving the NCAA its due credit.

For the unversed, NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association which is a non-profit organization across colleges in the USA and Canada. It thus acts as a stepping stone for future stars. Let’s have a look at what the NBA star had to say.

What did the NBA star say?

NBA star Terance Mann was quick to credit his college Florida State University for helping him hone his skills and instilling in him the attitude to perform at the highest level. Mann made an appearance on the ‘Run Your Race’ podcast on Friday and discussed at length about his time at the FSU.

“When I got my freshman year campus was so crazy… On the basketball side me, Dwayne Bacon… I was just living, just living… Staying in the gym, living… I think my discipline came from prep school coz you learn how to manage your time in prep school.”

Terance Mann is a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Clippers who made his NBA debut against the Golden State Warriors. The Brooklyn-born was instrumental in leading his team to their maiden Western Conference Finals by pocketing a career-high 39 points and drilling 7-10 from the three-point range. Overall, Mann has a regular and post-season combined average of 8 points per game with 3.7 rebounds per contest and 2 assists per match.

As for his college career, Mann attended Florida State University and helped his team attain a record of 29-8 along with making it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. Mann was also named as the captain during his sophomore year.

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Overall, as per basketball reference, Mann averaged 9.4 points per contest with 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Before being drafted in the NBA, Mann stood at the third position in the school’s history with over 1,200 points, 600 rebounds, 200 assists, and 100 steals.

Which players did the NBA star play with?

Apart from having stars in the college football team like Jameis Winston and Jalen Ramsey, the FSU’s basketball team boasted names such as Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon.

Both Beasley and Bacon were later drafted by the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans respectively. Thus Florida State provided a conducive environment for growth and was a competitive place to develop the skills.

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Thus, Terance Mann thanked his college and also shared how it shaped his game. Do you think the NCAA is credited enough for developing stars? Or do fans and critics usually forget about the NCAA when athletes give outstanding performances in the NBA? Do let us know in the comments below.