Dale Beard presses the speaker button on his cell phone and turns an already elated locker room into a frenzy.
On one end is the Lansing Everett boys basketball team, fresh off a huge win. On the other is the Vikings' most famous alum, Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
“He congratulated the guys, and they just went nuts,” recalled Beard, an Everett assistant coach and former teammate of Johnson’s who called his friend after the Vikings secured an overtime victory over rival Grand Ledge in late February.
Three weeks later, No. 9 Everett defeated Grand Ledge for the program’s first Class A district title in a decade. On Wednesday, the Vikings topped No. 7 Kalamazoo Central for their first regional championship since 2004 to move one win shy of a trip to the Breslin Center. It’s been a resurgent season for Everett (23-2), and at the center of it is senior Trevor Manuel, one of three finalists for the Mr. Basketball award.
High school basketball has been an odyssey for the 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward and Oregon signee who is at his third school in as many years. But Manuel regrets none of it, especially not picking Everett to finish his prep career.
“Bringing that winning tradition back is just amazing,” he said, “because we have a big fan base that’s behind us and supporting us.”
AROUND THE COUNTRY AND BACK
Manuel’s circuitous journey can be traced back to his youth growing up in Lansing.
“I grew up on all sides of town – south side, west side, north side, east side,” he said. “I move around a lot.”
Manuel, who started playing ball at Aim High, began taking the game seriously in eighth grade and found himself in the spotlight the following year. He was a freshman reserve on Lansing Sexton’s dominant 2012 Class B state championship team that included current Michigan State players Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes, Iowa’s Anthony Clemmons and Oakland’s Jalen Hayes.
“It was a really good experience playing with those guys and knowing they were going to big schools,” Manuel said. “Everyone was really good on that team and we played together and we had an amazing coach (Carlton Valentine), so it was an amazing experience as a freshman.”
Sexton’s quest for a third straight state title ended with a loss to Jackson Lumen Christi in a 2013 regional final, which represented Manuel’s last game for the Big Reds. He moved to Mouth of Wilson, Va., for his junior year to play for national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy.
“I just wanted to get away and check out the other competition and play against the best teams in the country,” Manuel said. “I went out there and had a pretty successful year, and it was just a great experience.”
Oak Hill, which plays a national schedule, finished the 2013-14 season 41-4 – more than double the games played in a high school regular season in Michigan – and ranked No. 3 in the country.
“It was rough playing all the games and how intense practice was,” Manuel said. “I was like, dang; it’s not the same as playing against the same people I was playing against in Lansing.”
Manuel played with and against some of the best recruits in the country, including Jahlil Okafor, a Chicago star and current Duke freshman who could be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft.
“I was playing with the top players in the country and played against them in games,” Manuel said. “It was really good to have high-caliber players.”
Steve Smith is in his 30th season coaching Oak Hill and has produced more than two dozen future NBA Draft picks, including Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith.
“If you ever get an opportunity like that, I don’t think anyone could ever turn it down, just knowing the players that Coach Smith had put out and knowing his history,” Manuel said. “I really couldn’t say no to that.”
COMING HOME
It’s late in practice on the south side of Lansing and the Vikings are working on game situations for coach Desmond Ferguson. Manuel takes a feed at the elbow and splits down the lane for a two-handed dunk, but he walked, and his teammates let him know about it. In response, the senior star dives and slides across the paint in laughter.
Manuel has no regrets about the season he spent at Oak Hill or his decision to return to Lansing and attend Everett, not Sexton, and he certainly looks like he’s having fun.
“I just wanted to come back and finish out my senior year in front of my family and friends because I knew I wasn’t going to come back for college,” he said. “I knew I probably wasn’t going to Michigan or Michigan State, so I just came back for one year to finish up in front of them.”
Manuel has three cousins on the Everett team and followed in the footsteps of his father, James, who also played for the Vikings.
“He said he really missed me when I was out there,” Manuel said. “He’s been able to come to every game and been able to work out with me like we always did.”
Heading into his third season attempting to revive the program he once starred in, Ferguson was blessed with a game-changing talent.
“I was excited,” Ferguson said. “A guy like that doesn’t just fall in your lap. I felt we would be better this year even if we didn’t have him, but he took the program to a whole other level with his skill, his size, his ability, his versatility.”
Magic guided Everett to a 1977 Class A state title, and the Vikings added another in 2004, but fell on hard times after that. Prior to winning its first district title in a decade last week, Everett’s 18 wins in the regular season were more than the last three years combined and Manuel is a key reason for the success.
“We needed a big man; we lacked it last year,” Everett senior guard Devon Hudson said of Manuel, his cousin. “He came to the team and has helped us out on the defensive side and the offensive side, and it’s taken us a long way.”
Going from a national schedule to a local one in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue Division was a big adjustment for Manuel.
“It’s definitely more relaxing knowing you don’t have to get up for early-morning flights and getting back in the early morning to go to school the next day,” he said. “It’s a big difference.”
On the flip-side, Manuel is no longer playing against some of the top players in the nation and, as a result, had a few off games.
“It has affected me a little bit,” he said. “Some games I played down to the level of competition, and that’s something I’ve had to work on to make myself a better player and as good a player as I can be.”
The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, which presents the Mr. Basketball award, announced its three finalists on March 5. Manuel, who averaged 23.5 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks during the regular season, joins Muskegon’s Deyonta Davis (MSU) and Saginaw Arthur Hill’s Eric Davis (Texas) as the smallest group of finalists in the 35-year history of the award.
“It’s a really good feeling just knowing that all this work I’m putting in is paying off,” Manuel said. “Just going out here and showing everyone that I’m one of the best.”
OREGON BOUND WITH NBA DREAMS
One of the final game situations Ferguson assigns this day during practice is a tie score with 30 seconds to go and the Vikings are playing for the last shot. As Ferguson counts down while looking at a timer on his phone, Manuel takes a feed in the left corner and buries a triple just as his coach sounds the buzzer.
Manuel may be the biggest player on the court most nights, but he can do a lot more than play in the paint. As a four-star recruit according to ESPN, Manuel racked up a number of scholarship offers and ultimately chose Oregon over finalists Michigan State, Florida State and USC in November, following an official visit.
“The coaches and the players just made me feel like I was already a part of the team,” he said. “It felt like family.”
Next season Manuel will be playing on his fourth different team and for his fourth different coach in as many years, but said that’s a non-factor.
“Wherever I play, that’s where I play,” he said. “It makes no difference where I’m at because it’s the same goal.”
Ferguson is an ideal person to help Manuel with that transition. The 1995 Everett graduate played his college ball at Missouri and Detroit and professionally in 11 countries before a brief stint in the NBA.
“Really, it’s just teaching him about the preparation of the game,” Ferguson said. “As you can see, he’s very skilled and has a high basketball IQ, but you really have to prepare. I think those are the ones that get a chance to make it to the elite level when you can mix that talent with the preparation and hard work. I continue to stay on him to always want to improve as a player.”
Ferguson believes Manuel is the best player in the state and one with immense future potential.
“It starts with the talent,” he said. “He has the talent and the skill and he has the size. He’s a legit 3/4 when you talk about being a pro. It’s just continuing to get stronger, which is natural when he gets older and grows. As far as skill and everything, he definitely has the potential to be a high-level pro. It’s just seeing how things will work over the next couple years, but I think he can get to the highest level as long as his dedication and hard work continue.”
Manuel said that won’t be a problem because he’s working on his game every day to fulfill his goal of playing in the NBA.
“Everybody dreams for it,” he said, “but I go out there every day and try to make it a reality.”
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