Niccolò "Nico" Mannion is an Italian-American college basketball player for the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-12 Conference. He previously played for Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a five-star recruit and one of the top point guards in the 2019 recruiting class. Although he mainly grew up in the United States, Mannion represents his birth country of Italy in international competitions.
As a freshman, Mannion began playing basketball for Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Arizona under head coach Charlie Wilde. On February 9, 2017, he featured in a Sports Illustrated article, "A 15-Year-Old Basketball Prodigy". Mannion started in all 28 of his games, averaging 20.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.4 steals per game while leading Pinnacle to a 22–6 record. He was named MaxPreps first team All-American and Arizona Republic Class 6A first team All-State. Entering his sophomore season, Mannion was named to the USA Today All-USA Arizona preseason team. He missed his first four games with a broken left hand. On February 28, 2018, Mannion scored 21 points in a 76–60 win over Mountain Pointe High School for the Class 6A state championship. He finished the season averaging 23.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, leading Pinnacle to a 24–7 record. Mannion received MaxPreps Sophomore All-American third team and Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year distinction. He took online summer courses to be able to graduate in the following spring. On December 1, Mannion scored 37 points, including the game-winning three-pointer, in an 82–80 victory over Shadow Mountain High School, who had won 73 straight games against Arizona opponents. MaxPreps writer Jordan Divens said that Mannion's performance in the game "will go down in Arizona high school basketball lore." Five days later, Mannion recorded 33 points and 12 assists in a nationally televised game against top recruit Jalen Green and San Joaquin Memorial High School at the Hoophall West Invitational. On December 30, he scored 45 points in an 88–78 loss to Mater Dei High School at the Rancho Mirage Holiday Invitational National Division championship. Mannion, on February 2, 2019, tallied 57 points, including the game-winning shot as time expired, to help defeat Chaparral High School. On February 27, he led Pinnacle to a second Class 6A state title, posting 34 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in an 83–64 win over Chaparral High School. By the end of the season, Mannion was averaging 30.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. He reclaimed the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year award and was recognized as National High School Coaches Association Senior Athlete of the Year. Mannion also earned USA Today All-USA second team and Naismith All-American third team honors. In the spring, he played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Nike Hoop Summit.
Recruiting
Mannion was considered the top player in the 2020 recruiting class by Scout.com, Rivals.com and ESPN. But he reclassified to the 2019 class. Mannion received his first college basketball offer from Cal State Northridge while in eighth grade. In high school, he picked up offers from several major NCAA Division I programs, including Duke and Villanova. Mannion was a consensus five-star recruit and the best recruit from Arizona in the 2019 class. On September 14, 2018, he committed to Arizona over Marquette.
College career
Mannion earned preseason first-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors and was named to the preseason watch lists for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. In his second collegiate game for Arizona, on November 6, 2019, he recorded 23 points, nine assists and four rebounds in a 90–69 win over Illinois. On November 28, Mannion posted 16 points and 11 assists and made a game-winning layup with four seconds left in a 93–91 victory over Pepperdine in the first round of the Wooden Legacy. In a second round win over Penn, he scored a season-high 24 points. Mannion led his team to the Wooden Legacy title and was named tournament most valuable player after averaging 16.3 points and 7.3 assists per game. In the following day, he earned Pac-12 freshman of the week accolades. On February 29, 2020, Mannion had 19 points and six assists in a 69–64 loss to UCLA. At the conclusion of the regular season, Mannion was named to the All-Pac-12 second team and the All-Freshman Team. Mannion averaged 14.0 points and 5.3 assists per game as a freshman. Following the season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft.
