Terance Mann is the son of immigrants from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia who was born in Brooklyn 28 years ago. For the first 11 years of his life, he lived close to where Barclays Center stands today. He remembers asking his mother, Daynia La-Force. who worked up the street as an LIU assistant women’s coach, what all the fuss was about at Flatbush and Atlantic.
“I used to walk around the area before Barclays was even built. I used to be around there, walking around, always asking, like, ‘What are they building here?’ My mom’s like ‘I think Jay-Z is bringing the Nets from New Jersey.