He came to Florida State in the same class as two of the most prized recruits in program history.
He was the "other" freshman wing that year. The one not named Bacon or Beasley.
He wasn’t a McDonald’s All-American, and he won’t be an NBA first-round draft pick. But Terance Mann, who will be playing his last game inside the Tucker Center tonight when the No. 14 Seminoles host No. 15 Virginia Tech (7 p.m., ESPNU), is leaving a legacy at FSU that far outshines the aforementioned stars from his signing class.
In fact, as his college career winds down, you could make the argument that Mann has been one of the most impactful players to ever wear garnet and gold.
“From the day he committed, he’s been a guy that’s been trying to make the program better,” associate head coach Stan Jones said. “He’s a guy that committed before his official visit, and we had not gotten commitments from Malik and Dwayne. And he started reaching out to those guys.
“His communication to them was, 'I don’t care what position I play, I want to win, I want to have a good team. Come on, let’s do this together.' Which is a rarity in today’s generation of basketball players, because most guys have a huge jealousy problem and a huge fear of competition.”
Not Terance Mann.
He struck up a friendship with Bacon and Beasley, trying to convince them to come to Tallahassee. Even though that would mean less minutes – and certainly less shots – for him at the start of his career.
In any other year, Mann might have been the jewel of Florida State's recruiting class. He was a four-star prospect and one of the top 100 players in the country. But Bacon was a five-star recruit, and Beasley wasn't far behind.
And Mann was happy to let them have the early hype.
“I mean, I just knew it would take more than just me to change this culture and change the perspective of this being a basketball school,” Mann said. “I knew it would have to be a big powerhouse recruiting class, and I kind of saw that at a young age. I don’t know how. I just think that’s how I was. Just being unselfish, I wanted people to come with me.”
Because he wanted to win.
And almost nobody in the history of the FSU men's basketball program has done that more than Terance Mann.
Over these last four years, he's been a part of 91 victories. The school record is 95, set by Luke Loucks from 2009 to 2012. Mann has been a three-year starter, and each of those three years the Seminoles have earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The career numbers themselves won’t overwhelm you.
He's averaging 11.5 points per game this season, following 12.6 as a junior and 8.4 as a sophomore. But that’s not what Mann’s game is about anyway.
He’s not a high-volume shooter. He just does all the little things -- all over the court, all the time -- that add up to a big difference.
Bacon and Beasley were terrific college players. Certainly better scorers than Mann. They could take over games with their offensive ability.
But Mann is the guy who finds a way to make an impact without taking a ton of shots.
“He can play all five positions,” head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “He can play point guard if you need him to. He makes good decisions with the ball, he’s a good ball-handler, has good floor vision, a good athlete, he rebounds, defends. He’s a natural basketball player.
“I dubbed him the stat-sheet stuffer when he was a freshman.”
That was back when Mann was still mostly in the shadow of his two good friends, Bacon and Beasley.
It was assistant coach Charlton Young who was Mann’s primary recruiter. He was the one who saw pro potential in the son of Rhode Island women’s basketball coach Daynia La-Force and first pointed out the versatile guard/forward to Hamilton on the recruiting trail.
“I remember being on the road, I think it might have been Sacramento at an AAU tournament,” Hamilton said. “And Coach Young brought me over to the court that Terance was playing at and said, ‘Coach, this guy right here is going to be a good player. He’s kind of under the radar. People don’t realize it, but he’s a smart, intelligent player, athletic, and he’s going to get better and better.’
“So, he recognized Terance’s potential way before a lot of people. I trusted his judgement.”
Safe to say it’s worked out for all parties.
More than four years later, Mann is one of only three players in Florida State history to have 1,200 career points, 600 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals. The other two? A couple of guys named Doug Edwards and Bob Sura.
But as much as Mann appreciates being mentioned in the same breath as players of that magnitude, the only stat that truly matters to him -- the only stat that has ever mattered to him -- is the one that’s on the scoreboard at the end of a game.
When his career is over, you won’t be able to say Terance Mann was the best player in FSU history. You won’t be able to say he was the best scorer or shooter or passer or rebounder or defender.
But he was really good at all of it. Which is why in a couple of weeks, you might just be able to say that he's the all-time winningest player in FSU history.
And that would mean more to Mann than anything else.
“I don’t know if it’s right or wrong, but I was just different than a lot of people growing up,” he said. “A lot of other people worry about how much they scored, how many shots they get a game, and I just worry about winning.
“Why would I want to finish with the most points in Florida State history when I could be the winningest player of all time? That would be amazing. To go down as a winner.”
Whether that distinction comes to him or not, Mann is going to go down as one of the most impactful players in school history. A guy who called higher-rated recruits to come join him in Tallahassee. A guy who didn’t care about personal statistics. A guy who helped turn FSU back into a perennial NCAA Tournament participant. A guy who won and won and won some more.
That’s Terance Mann.
That’s how he’ll always be remembered.
That’s his legacy.
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