L
ET’S GET the obvious
comparison out of the way:
At 6-4 and 180 pounds, quick,
slender and elusive, with
that no-joke, as-soon-as-he-
steps-over-halfcourt range,
Tre Mann will inevitably remind you of a
pretty well-known NBA player. It doesn’t
hurt the analogy that Mann’s dad was
a serious hooper in his day, and that
his mom was a pretty good volleyball
player. How could he not be compared to
Chef Curry? In fact, he’s been inspiring
that comparison for years.
“They used to call me Little Steph
Curry, and I ain’t gonna lie—in seventh
grade, that was my favorite player,”
Mann says now. “I used to wear his
shirts in warmups. It’s not like I went out
trying to play like him, but I was always a
shooter, and I was just crafty like that, so
they gave me the name, started calling
me Baby Curry.”
That was six years ago, but on a lot of
levels, the analogy still holds up. Quietly
swaggy and hyper-confident in a shot he
can create at any time and hit from
anywhere, Mann is one of the most
dangerous scorers in the 2019 class. No,
he’s not on that elite level just yet, but
Colt McDowell, Mann’s high school
coach at The Villages (FL) Charter
School, isn’t afraid of mentioning his star
player in the same breath as the
Warriors’ two-time MVP.
“I’ve always compared him to Steph
Curry, and I know growing up, that was
the guy he really admired and looked up
to,” McDowell says. “I don’t know if he
patterned his game after him, but I think
it’s kind of grown organically. He shoots
really well off the dribble, getting people
off balance and pulling up, shooting in
transition.”
Now a McDonald’s All-American
and top-10 senior point guard prospect,
Mann has only built on that foundation.
Assessing his game now, Mann says
he’s expanded his skill set by borrowing
not only from Curry’s arsenal, but from
guys like D’Angelo Russell, Bradley Beal
and Devin Booker. “I think my game has
increased to where I can get to the hole,
finish, use my athleticism, so I’ve got
certain players I try to play like, study
and watch ’em,” Mann says. “I feel like
I’m at my best when I shoot off the drib-
ble, create my own shot.”
McDowell concurs with his player’s
self-assessment. “As a complete player,
I think Beal’s a good comparison,” theTHE
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MANN OF THE
WORDS RYAN JONES // PORTRAITS JOSEPH L. SHERMANClass of 2019 guard Tre Mann’s game will feel
familiar to anyone who’s watched the NBA’s
most prominent sharpshooter over the past
few years. Not that that’s a bad thing.