Brady Manek wasn’t quite ready to grow up yet.
Confronted with a decision hundreds of seniors across college basketball had to make in spring 2021, Manek chose one more year of college instead of the real world. And as he embarks on his final weekend (for real this time) as a college basketball player, he couldn’t be happier to have prolonged his amateur career.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA announced in October 2020 that athletes who competed during the ’20–21 season would get an additional year of eligibility, protecting players worried that a COVID-19-impacted season wouldn’t be worth playing in. The most immediate impact was for seniors, who suddenly had a decision to make: stay for a bonus year of college or move on, whether that be to professional basketball or corporate America.
