The Manhattan Jaspers men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Manhattan University in The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They have won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament championship five times (1993, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2015). The Jaspers have had three players named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year, most recently Luis Flores in 2003. Luis Flores is also the Manhattan Jaspers all-time leading scorer with 2046 points from 2001 to 2004. Their current head coach is John Gallagher, who was hired from the University of Hartford in March of 2023.
The Jaspers have appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 3âÂÂ9.
The Jaspers have appeared in 18 National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). Their combined record is 8âÂÂ19.
The Jaspers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 0âÂÂ1.
The Jaspers have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their combined record is 1âÂÂ1.
The Jaspers have appeared in the NAIA Tournament once. Their combined record is 2âÂÂ1.
The Jaspers' main rivals are the Iona Gaels. This rivalry started in December of 1946, which Manhattan won 69âÂÂ62. Iona leads the all-time series 66âÂÂ45 They also enjoy a strong rivalry with the cross-borough Fordham Rams, whom they first played in the 1911âÂÂ12 season and annually since the 1922âÂÂ23 season. Although the Rams left the MAAC for the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1990, the "Battle of the Bronx" is still played almost every season. In the most recent matchup, the Rams won 82âÂÂ53 against the Jaspers on December 13, 2025.
Manhattan College star center Junius Kellogg was offered a $1,000 bribe to shave points in a game against DePaul. Though he was earning only minimum wage working at a frozen custard shop near campus, Kellogg refused the offer and immediately reported it to Manhattan coach Ken Norton. Working with investigators, Kellogg wore a wire during a meeting with fixer Henry âÂÂHankâ Poppe, who openly described the point-shaving scheme. The evidence led to the arrests of Poppe, Manhattan co-captain John Byrnes, and several gambling figures, exposing efforts to manipulate Manhattan games.
KelloggâÂÂs courage helped ignite the investigation that uncovered the massive 1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal, which ultimately implicated players from several major programsâÂÂincluding City College of New York (CCNY), Long Island University, Kentucky, Bradley, and others. Dozens of players were arrested or banned, and the revelations rocked college basketball nationwide.
After his role in uncovering the 1951 point shaving scandal, Junius Kellogg left college for the army before returning to graduate in 1953. He subsequently joined the Harlem Globetrotters. In 1954 while traveling with the team he was paralyzed in a car accident. He became an ardent supporter of wheelchair basketball culminating in head coaching Team USA to the 1964 Paralympic Gold Medal.