Nico Mannion, his parents and closest friends invoke a saying to remind them that nothing great can be accomplished alone: “It takes a village.”



Mannion’s inner circle, his village, is small. But it’s filled with people who have influenced his growth over the years. In one way or another, these individuals have helped him on his path to becoming an elite point guard prospect. This season, Mannion will be the face of Arizona basketball.



Some members of that village made the trip to Tucson to support Mannion in this year’s Red-Blue Game on Sept. 27, when the five-star freshman guard made his Wildcats debut. Mannion’s parents, Pace and Gaia, were there with his cousin Ludovica. Also in attendance was Mannion’s longtime trainer and friend, Vaughn Compton, who had worked closely with Mannion since he was 13 years old.



When player introductions began ahead of the scrimmage, Compton says he got a little emotional as Mannion...