Wake Forest hires Danny Manning

Wake Forest has agreed to a deal with Tulsa's Danny Manning for him to become the Demon Deacons' coach, the school announced Friday.

"I am excited about the opportunity to be a part of the history and tradition of Wake Forest," he said in a statement. "I am extremely humbled by this honor and look forward to being the head coach and competing for championships both on and off the court."

Manning, who has spent the past two seasons with the Golden Hurricane, visited the Winston-Salem campus Wednesday after meeting with Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman earlier in the week in Indianapolis.

"We are very pleased to welcome Danny Manning to Wake Forest," Wellman said in a release. "There have been very few players who have had as much success on the court as Danny. He has played for and worked under a number of legendary coaches and he has been successful in his coaching career. We fully expect that Danny's coaching career will reflect the excellence of his playing career."

There will be a news conference next week to introduce Manning.

He will replace Jeff Bzdelik, who was forced to resign after four forgettable seasons at Wake Forest. Bzdelik was 51-76 overall and 17-51 in ACC play.

Manning, 47, was the top pick in the 1988 NBA draft. He played 15 seasons in the league, then joined Bill Self's staff at Kansas, where he was an assistant from 2006 to 2012.

He was hired by Tulsa in 2012 and led the Golden Hurricane to a 17-16 mark and an appearance in the CBI that season despite having the program's top two players, Jordan Clarkson and Eric McClellan, transfer.

Tulsa finished 21-13 this season and tied for first in Conference USA with a 13-3 mark. The Golden Hurricane lost to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Manning attended high school in North Carolina.