Talented Big Man On Move
Darius Manciel, a 6-10, 235 pound center from Weatherford J.C. in Weatherford, Tex., is probably going to transfer to another junior college in the fall.
JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com caught up with Weatherford Head Coach Mark Osina this week, and he informed us that Manciel could wind up at Arkansas-Fort Smith (formerly Westark) or a junior college in Kansas.
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"We probably won't be able to graduate him here with the TASP exam," Osina said. "So we need to get him to another junior college where he can play another year and graduate."
The TASP exam is a mandatory three part test that all junior college students in the state of Texas must pass before graduating. Certain classroom grades can exempt a student from passing a specific section of the TASP.
The University of Arkansas recently hired ex-TCU Assistant Coach Rob Flaska to be on its staff, and Flaska was primarily responsible for Manciel's recruitment to TCU out of Detroit, Mich.
Manciel had signed with TCU in the spring of 2000 as a high school senior in Detroit, then spent the 2000-2001 school year at the Winchendon School in Massachusetts trying to boost his academic ledger in line with NCAA standards.
After failing to qualify academically at Winchendon, Manciel enrolled at Weatherford as a part-time student in the fall. While there, he posted a qualifying ACT test score, but that test was challenged and the result was thrown out.
Manciel became eligible to play at Weatherford after the Christmas break, and used up a year of college eligibility by playing at the Texas JUCO. He retook the ACT test this spring, but Osina did not think that Manciel had a positive vibe on his result.
"He took the test, and he has not come in here wanting to know his results, so I think he already got them back," the coach said. "At first, he was excited about getting them back, but he has not come by lately to ask about them."
If Manciel were to get a valid qualifying score on the exam, he could enroll at a Division I program in the fall with three years to play on the Divsion I level.
We will keep you posted on Manciel's recruitment and junior college destination in the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned.