MOBILE, Ala. – Former South Alabama men's basketball star Charles Manning Jr. signed a professional deal with KK Metalac Valjevo of The Basketball League of Serbia. Manning Jr. becomes the third Jaguar from the 2021-22 roster to sign a professional contract, joining JayJay Chandler (BBC Monthey-Chablais) and Kayo Goncalves (BK Iskra Svit).
 
During the 2021-22 season, Manning Jr. started 29 contests for the Jags and was named to the first-team NABC all-district team and second-team all-Sun Belt. He finished the regular season fourth in Sun Belt scoring (15.4 ppg) and was named the Las Vegas Classic MVP. Manning Jr. posted at least 20 points in 11 games. The Riverhead, N.Y., native recorded a career-high 26 points at UTA and against Little Rock in the SBC Tournament, while tallying a career-high six assists multiple times.
 
Prior to his time at USA, Manning Jr. played at LSU and Florida Southwestern State. In his second season at Florida Southwestern State, he was named to the third-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American.
 
ABOUT KK METALAC VALJEVO
KK Metalac Valjevo is a professional basketball team based in Valjevo, Serbia. The team currently plays in the Basketball League of Serbia. Since the 2007-08 season, the club has advanced to the Basketball League of Serbia Superleague phase five times. Valjevo was also a founding member of the Adriatic Basketball Association in 2015.

ABOUT THE BASKETBALL LEAGUE OF SERBIA
The Basketball League of Serbia, or KLS, is a top-tier professional basketball league in Serbia organized by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Fourteen teams compete in the league. The league has been won by Crvena Zvezda mts for the past five seasons excluding 2019-20, when no champion was declared.
 
FOLLOW THE JAGS
For complete coverage of South Alabama men's basketball, follow the Jags on social media @WeAreSouth_MBB (Twitter), /WeAreSouthJAGS (Facebook), @wearesouth_mbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com.
 
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