Coleman talks Cal commitment
Late on Friday night, 2016 point guard Don Coleman made the decision to take his talents to the University of California, Berkeley. Coleman is a former Florida Atlantic University commit who ended up playing at Lawson State Community College in Alabama instead. He isn’t sure what he’ll study at Cal yet, but he hopes to do something along the lines of Sports Management.
“Just making the best decision for me and my family,” he said with excitement. “Cal is where I could get better and grow as an individual. My relationship with Coach Webster and Coach Martin was unbelievable. They are great and I know they will get me better on and off the court as a man.”
What makes Don Coleman a great fit for Cal is the fact that Cal needs more depth at the point guard position in the coming seasons with Tyrone Wallace graduating and Sam Singer going into his senior season next year. Cal wants to make sure they have the point guard position covered for the coming seasons and having Coleman commit helps ensure this.
Cal does have some talented guards already committed to the program: Tyson Jolly (2016), Jemarl Baker, Jr. (2017), and Alec Hickman (2017). While all three of those guards have the potential to run the point, Don Coleman appears to be much more of a traditional point guard who can also shoot. At Lawson State, Coleman averaged 19.9 points per game, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game to go along with 42.6% shooting from 3-point range and 76.9% shooting from the foul line.
Coleman’s 6.2 assists per game indicate that he knows it what it takes to run an offense and get everybody involved. This is not to say that the other three players I mentioned do not, but what helps Coleman is the fact that he has experience running the point at the college level. The other three guys may be able to do so in time, but Don Coleman should be able to come in right away and make an impact at the point guard position.
“I will bring a winning good attitude,” he told me. “A non stop work ethic. I will stay in the gym. A vocal leader from day one. A scorer, but overall a playmaker looking to get everybody looks and make everybody better and win games. A Pac-12 championship man would be great!”
Don Coleman’s commitment to being a team player is reflected in his assist numbers. Given his ability to score the basketball at the community college level, for him to still average 6.2 assists per game is a sign of his selflessness and his willingness to make his teammates better. He isn’t about statistics, he is about winning, and that’s an attitude that every college basketball team needs in their locker room in order to be successful.
However, it should be understood that Don Coleman had to really work to get to where he’s gotten. He didn’t become a great playmaker over night. He had to really work at it.
“I've grown tremendously! I'm more mature and patient than ever before,” he said. “Me getting to the basket whenever and my pull up mid range game is crazy. Being a playmaker and making my teammates better. Being a great vocal leader. I evolved by being way more efficient on offensive and making plays at all times for my team. And making big plays at big moments.”
The maturity and patience is what really stands out to me from Coleman’s words. Becoming a good point guard and leader is all about those two things. Letting the game come to you and making the right basketball play is one of the toughest things for young players to learn. Don Coleman appears to already have a firm grasp on the importance of both of these things. He understands that what matters most is making plays that make his team better, which is what being a point guard is all about.
As a matter of fact, everything that he is working on to get better is oriented around making the team better. He isn’t just committed to being a good player on offense. He is equally committed to being a good player on defense, too.
“Getting stronger. Get my ball handling tighter,” he said. “Keep my jumpshot consistent at all times. Defense, Defense, Defense! Get my feet quicker and staying low even when I'm fatigued. Get my floaters better over these big defenders.”
Just to be clear, Don Coleman emphatically said “Defense” three times in a row for effect. He knows that this Cal team is all about playing defense and that Coach Martin will expect him to be a gritty defender in the backcourt.
Overall, Don Coleman should be a great addition to the Cal program. He knows what is expected of him and he understands his role. More importantly, he’s just a really good kid. Every time I’ve interviewed Don Coleman, I walk away amazed by how genuine, sincere, and humble he is. He’s a kid who is very grateful to have the opportunity to come to Cal and he is ready to bring his hard hat every day to make Cal better both on and off the court.