Kirk Manns, center, is congratulated by John Laskowski, left, and Kirk’s wife, Lisa Manns, after he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame during a banquet in Indianapolis.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
Seymour High School boys basketball head coach and athletic director Kirk Manns, left, is pictured with Brad Stevens after both were inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame during a banquet in Indianapolis.
Submitted photo
Seymour head coach Kirk Manns instructs players at a basketball camp put on by the Owls’ program.
Tribune file photo
Seymour head coach Kirk Manns pumps his fist alongside Marcus Brooks after an Owls victory during the 2021-22 season. Manns was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame this week.
Tribune file photo
A lot of outstanding basketball players, coaches and officials have been inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame over the past 53 years.
Kirk Manns joined that group Wednesday night during a banquet in Indianapolis.
The Seymour High School boys basketball coach and athletic director said it was a special feeling to be inducted.
“It’s hard to put into words,” he said. “You grow up in Indiana, and when you start to play, you play because you love it. You don’t think about college scholarships or Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. You just play because you love it. You play with your buddies.
“Right now, it’s kind of a lot to take in,” he said. “As I walked through the Hall of Fame today (in New Castle) and looked at all the great names that I grew up watching and the great coaches and players, it is unbelievably humbling to be part of that group now.”
He earned four letters in basketball, baseball and football at North Judson High School, graduating in 1986. He was an Indiana All-Star in basketball and runner-up for Mr. Basketball. He averaged 33 points as a junior and 34.2 points and nine rebounds as a senior. He scored 1,962 points.
He helped the Bluejays win a sectional his senior year.
Manns than attended Michigan State University, where he played basketball for coach Jud Heathcote.
He scored 1,212 points for the Spartans, once scoring a career-high 40 points, and was named most improved player his senior year. He shot over 47.5% in 3-point shots during his career at Michigan State.
“We got into the Sweet 16 one time and lost in the next round. We were the No. 1 seed in that tournament, and we were the Big Ten champions also in 1990,” he said.
Manns then played two years of professional basketball in Sweden.
He then became an assistant basketball coach to coach Bob Donewald at Western Michigan University.
“I started coaching at Western Michigan in 1993, around up until today, I’ve been blessed to do something that I love and be part of young people’s lives. All in all, I’ve been blessed,” he said. “I’ve played with a lot of great players, a lot of great people, and without them, none of this would be possible, so I appreciate them and their unselfishness.”
He then became athletic director at Fredericktown High School in Ohio from 2001 to 2011, and then was athletic director at Madison High School in Mansfield, Ohio, from 2011 to 2016.
He has been AD at Seymour High School since 2016 and has been head coach of the Owls the past four seasons, compiling a record of 43-47. In 2022, he was voted the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in District 3 when he posted a record of 15-7.
“The game has provided me a career in athletics that I’ve been blessed for nearly 30 years,” he told the crowd at the banquet.
He credited his high school football coach, Russ Radtke, and his high school basketball coach, Dave LaPella, along with Heathcote and Donewald with giving him valuable advice he has used throughout his professional career.
“The best thing that happened during my time at Western Michigan was that I met coach Donewald’s daughter, Lisa,” Manns said of the woman who became his wife.
Lisa is a daughter of a coach, the sister of a coach, the wife of a coach and mother of a coach.
“She is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Kirk said. “We’ve been married for nearly 29 years. Our children, Celia and Kirk, who we are so proud of, are both putting their own stamp on this world and alongside of them our son-in-law, Max, and daughter-in-law, Paxton. They are my world.”
“It’s an unbelievable honor,” he said of his induction. “I did see a lot of guys tonight I haven’t seen for a while, some old high school teammates and coaches that I haven’t seen and don’t get to see a lot, so it was just a great all-around night tonight. It was nice to have my family here. When you coach, you have to have family support.”
Also inducted Wednesday were James Blackmon Sr., Marion; Richard Butt, Huntington; Henry Chapman, Fort Wayne North; John DeVoe, Park School; Henry Ebershoff, Lafayette Central Catholic; Brian Evans, Terre Haute South; Oscar Evans, Shortridge; Darrin Fitzgerald, Indianapolis Washington; Dennis Goins, Rushville; Ken Gunning, Shelbyville; Jack Hogan, Broad Ripple; Eric Montross, Lawrence North; Drake Morris, East Chicago Washington; Jim Oler, Economy; Phil Snodgress, Kennard; Mike Lightfoot, LaVille; and Brad Stevens, Zionsville.