Out of curiosity, I decided to check in on old friend Don Coleman. Sounds like the wheels came off for him at South Alabama. He left the team on an "indefinite absence" back in mid-December, came back briefly for a couple of games and hasn't been heard from again. Sounds like he had a few chronic injuries he was dealing with but was also getting outplayed by a couple of the other transfers USA brought in. He hasn't played since the end of December. I really thought USA would be a good spot for him but, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have turned out well. And as a senior, this is it.

On the season:
13 games / 4 starts
17 mins/game
5.2 points/game
39% FG / 35% 3PT / 54% FT
1.4 rebounds / game
0.5 assists/game

TheSouseFamily said:

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Out of curiosity, I decided to check in on old friend Don Coleman. Sounds like the wheels came off for him at South Alabama. He left the team on an "indefinite absence" back in mid-December, came back briefly for a couple of games and hasn't been heard from again. Sounds like he had a few chronic injuries he was dealing with but was also getting outplayed by a couple of the other transfers USA brought in. He hasn't played since the end of December. I really thought USA would be a good spot for him but, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have turned out well. And as a senior, this is it.

On the season:
13 games / 4 starts
17 mins/game
5.2 points/game
39% FG / 35% 3PT / 54% FT
1.4 rebounds / game
0.5 assists/game

---

This surely makes you question the level of talent on that first Wyking team (leftovers from the Martin era). Coleman was considered the go-to scorer on that team. He put up almost 13 shots per game, which is absurd when you look at his shooting efficiency. Makes sense that we were one of the worst Power conference teams in recent memory when you consider that. That he can't do much for a lower-tier mid-major pretty much verifies my original opinion of him when he was signed out of JC.

tsubamoto2001 said:

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TheSouseFamily said:

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Out of curiosity, I decided to check in on old friend Don Coleman. Sounds like the wheels came off for him at South Alabama. He left the team on an "indefinite absence" back in mid-December, came back briefly for a couple of games and hasn't been heard from again. Sounds like he had a few chronic injuries he was dealing with but was also getting outplayed by a couple of the other transfers USA brought in. He hasn't played since the end of December. I really thought USA would be a good spot for him but, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have turned out well. And as a senior, this is it.

On the season:
13 games / 4 starts
17 mins/game
5.2 points/game
39% FG / 35% 3PT / 54% FT
1.4 rebounds / game
0.5 assists/game

---

This surely makes you question the level of talent on that first Wyking team. Coleman was considered the go-to scorer on that team. He put up almost 13 shots per game, which is absurd when you look at his shooting efficiency. Makes sense that we were one of the worst Power conference teams in recent memory when you consider that.

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You are right, of course. And it was Wyking himself who declared to the press before his first season that Coleman would be "the go-to scorer" on that team. So it also makes sense that Coleman's coach had little idea of how to judge or use the talent he had, and he was one of the worst coaches of a Power Conference team in recent memory as well. Cal would have two years of a double-whammy, not much talent and an incompetent coach. Thank goodness it is starting to look like we are beginning to put that behind us.

TheSouseFamily said:

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It also highlights Cuonzo's weakness in scouting players that weren't high profile guys like Rabb, Brown and Moore. Scouting players outside the top 150 can be difficult and a huge opportunity/risk for coaches since these guys are likely to hang around for 4 years. Cuonzo completely whiffed with guys like Roman Davis, Chauca, Coleman, etc.

Cuonzo was both a stellar recruiter for having the chops to bring in the occasional, obvious star but also a completely dismal recruiter when it came to actually assessing and scouting non-obvious talent.

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As Mizzu is learning. But at least we had the Hat day with Young Ivee. No one can take that away from us ;-)

socaltownie said:

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TheSouseFamily said:

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It also highlights Cuonzo's weakness in scouting players that weren't high profile guys like Rabb, Brown and Moore. Scouting players outside the top 150 can be difficult and a huge opportunity/risk for coaches since these guys are likely to hang around for 4 years. Cuonzo completely whiffed with guys like Roman Davis, Chauca, Coleman, etc.

Cuonzo was both a stellar recruiter for having the chops to bring in the occasional, obvious star but also a completely dismal recruiter when it came to actually assessing and scouting non-obvious talent.

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As Mizzu is learning. But at least we had the Hat day with Young Ivee. No one can take that away from us ;-)

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Plus we also get to claim Jalen Brown in the NBA. Otherwise it would just be Allen Crabbe.

calumnus said:

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socaltownie said:

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TheSouseFamily said:

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It also highlights Cuonzo's weakness in scouting players that weren't high profile guys like Rabb, Brown and Moore. Scouting players outside the top 150 can be difficult and a huge opportunity/risk for coaches since these guys are likely to hang around for 4 years. Cuonzo completely whiffed with guys like Roman Davis, Chauca, Coleman, etc.

Cuonzo was both a stellar recruiter for having the chops to bring in the occasional, obvious star but also a completely dismal recruiter when it came to actually assessing and scouting non-obvious talent.

---

As Mizzu is learning. But at least we had the Hat day with Young Ivee. No one can take that away from us ;-)

---

Plus we also get to claim Jalen Brown in the NBA. Otherwise it would just be Allen Crabbe.

---

I guess you mean the current NBA, because we can claim a number of Cal players who have retired and are no longer playing in the NBA, like Jason Kidd, Shareef, et al.

when you run a AAU offense, then Don WAS the best player on the team

For the season he took 387 shots (highest on the team), shooting 32%.

In the NIT, Martin gave him the ball on every possession and he shot 35 times (19 from the field, 16 from the line) for about 40% of the total team's shots, scoring 26 pts.

That team had Rabb, Moore, Mullins, Singer, King, Rooks and others ...
...and we run a HS offense?

But he was sometimes entertaining and amazed me at times. I remember him doing super human things against UCLA (the entire defense knew he was coming right at them, but couldn't stop him), vs. #6 Wichita State (35 pts), and other games where he was a one-man wrecking crew. He won a few games we wouldn't have won otherwise, left fairly quietly, and remains in contact with some of his ex-teammates.

I hope he is okay and wish him well.

Don Coleman College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com


https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/don-coleman-1.html

HoopDreams said:

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when you run a AAU offense, then Don WAS the best player on the team

For the season he took 387 shots (highest on the team), shooting 32%.

In the NIT, Martin gave him the ball on every possession and he shot 35 times (19 from the field, 16 from the line) for about 40% of the total team's shots, scoring 26 pts.

That team had Rabb, Sueing, McNeil, Moore, Mullins, King, Rooks and others ...
...and we run a HS offense?

But he was sometimes entertaining and amazed me at times. I remember him doing super human things against UCLA (the entire defense knew he was coming right at them, but couldn't stop him), vs. #6 Wichita State (35 pts), and other games where he was a one-man wrecking crew. He won a few games we wouldn't have won otherwise, left fairly quietly, and remains in contact with some of his ex-teammates.

I hope he is okay and wish him well.

---

All good points, but... Sueing and McNeill?

Big C said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

when you run a AAU offense, then Don WAS the best player on the team

For the season he took 387 shots (highest on the team), shooting 32%.

In the NIT, Martin gave him the ball on every possession and he shot 35 times (19 from the field, 16 from the line) for about 40% of the total team's shots, scoring 26 pts.

That team had Rabb, Sueing, McNeil, Moore, Mullins, King, Rooks and others ...
...and we run a HS offense?

But he was sometimes entertaining and amazed me at times. I remember him doing super human things against UCLA (the entire defense knew he was coming right at them, but couldn't stop him), vs. #6 Wichita State (35 pts), and other games where he was a one-man wrecking crew. He won a few games we wouldn't have won otherwise, left fairly quietly, and remains in contact with some of his ex-teammates.

I hope he is okay and wish him well.

---

All good points, but... Sueing and McNeill?

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thx for the correction. I edited my post.

SFCityBear said:

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calumnus said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

TheSouseFamily said:

---

It also highlights Cuonzo's weakness in scouting players that weren't high profile guys like Rabb, Brown and Moore. Scouting players outside the top 150 can be difficult and a huge opportunity/risk for coaches since these guys are likely to hang around for 4 years. Cuonzo completely whiffed with guys like Roman Davis, Chauca, Coleman, etc.

Cuonzo was both a stellar recruiter for having the chops to bring in the occasional, obvious star but also a completely dismal recruiter when it came to actually assessing and scouting non-obvious talent.

---

As Mizzu is learning. But at least we had the Hat day with Young Ivee. No one can take that away from us ;-)

---

Plus we also get to claim Jalen Brown in the NBA. Otherwise it would just be Allen Crabbe.

---

I guess you mean the current NBA, because we can claim a number of Cal players who have retired and are no longer playing in the NBA, like Jason Kidd, Shareef, et al.

---

Yes, current NBA, most critical for attracting 17 year old recruits. Plus, a reason to watch the NBA.

Big C said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

when you run a AAU offense, then Don WAS the best player on the team

For the season he took 387 shots (highest on the team), shooting 32%.

In the NIT, Martin gave him the ball on every possession and he shot 35 times (19 from the field, 16 from the line) for about 40% of the total team's shots, scoring 26 pts.

That team had Rabb, Sueing, McNeil, Moore, Mullins, King, Rooks and others ...
...and we run a HS offense?

But he was sometimes entertaining and amazed me at times. I remember him doing super human things against UCLA (the entire defense knew he was coming right at them, but couldn't stop him), vs. #6 Wichita State (35 pts), and other games where he was a one-man wrecking crew. He won a few games we wouldn't have won otherwise, left fairly quietly, and remains in contact with some of his ex-teammates.

I hope he is okay and wish him well.

---

All good points, but... Sueing and McNeill?

---

What is an AAU offense? Every man for himself?

SFCityBear said:

---

Big C said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

when you run a AAU offense, then Don WAS the best player on the team

For the season he took 387 shots (highest on the team), shooting 32%.

In the NIT, Martin gave him the ball on every possession and he shot 35 times (19 from the field, 16 from the line) for about 40% of the total team's shots, scoring 26 pts.

That team had Rabb, Sueing, McNeil, Moore, Mullins, King, Rooks and others ...
...and we run a HS offense?

But he was sometimes entertaining and amazed me at times. I remember him doing super human things against UCLA (the entire defense knew he was coming right at them, but couldn't stop him), vs. #6 Wichita State (35 pts), and other games where he was a one-man wrecking crew. He won a few games we wouldn't have won otherwise, left fairly quietly, and remains in contact with some of his ex-teammates.

I hope he is okay and wish him well.

---

All good points, but... Sueing and McNeill?

---

What is an AAU offense? Every man for himself?

---

So, I used to coach AAU (10-25 years ago, so it may have changed since then). However, a key facet of AAU, was that your roster was often in flux. You might have a solid core, but players would come and go with incredible frequency (as in game to game - particularly, if you weren't one of the dominant teams like the Soldiers). As a result, the offenses need to be very simple and quick to learn. This lends itself to too much individualism, but also the offenses tend to focus on attacking Man defenses vs zone defenses (because, similarly to offense, the defenses tend to be simple man to man to account for the randomness of personnel).

Not sure if that was what HD was referring to or if it even addresses your question . . . but that's my $0.02

In addition, most players are in AAU ball solely to audition for colleges, so padding individual stats is crucial.

UrsaMajor said:

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In addition, most players are in AAU ball solely to audition for colleges, so padding individual stats is crucial.

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This is more of a generalization, IMO. Most players usually put up lower numbers on the AAU circuit than their HS teams due to more talented rosters than what they play with on their HS team. I think AAU in general is more about just "playing ball" than HS for most. Depending on who your coach is, HS ball is more about structure, especially defensively, where teams play zones and sagging man-to-man a lot more than what you would see in AAU.

tsubamoto2001 said:

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UrsaMajor said:

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In addition, most players are in AAU ball solely to audition for colleges, so padding individual stats is crucial.

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This is more of a generalization, IMO. Most players usually put up lower numbers on the AAU circuit than their HS teams due to more talented rosters than what they play with on their HS team. I think AAU in general is more about just "playing ball" than HS for most. Depending on who your coach is, HS ball is more about structure, especially defensively, where teams play zones and sagging man-to-man a lot more than what you would see in AAU.

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Fair point but that too is a generalization. Take Jalen Celestine for example. He averaged considerably better numbers playing EYBL than he did for his loaded HS team. If a guy plays on one of those top "high school" teams, sometimes EYBL/AAU is a chance to show more game. But I agree though about the structure/nature of AAU versus HS.

BeachedBear said:

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SFCityBear said:

---

Big C said:

---

HoopDreams said:

---

when you run a AAU offense, then Don WAS the best player on the team

For the season he took 387 shots (highest on the team), shooting 32%.

In the NIT, Martin gave him the ball on every possession and he shot 35 times (19 from the field, 16 from the line) for about 40% of the total team's shots, scoring 26 pts.

That team had Rabb, Sueing, McNeil, Moore, Mullins, King, Rooks and others ...
...and we run a HS offense?

But he was sometimes entertaining and amazed me at times. I remember him doing super human things against UCLA (the entire defense knew he was coming right at them, but couldn't stop him), vs. #6 Wichita State (35 pts), and other games where he was a one-man wrecking crew. He won a few games we wouldn't have won otherwise, left fairly quietly, and remains in contact with some of his ex-teammates.

I hope he is okay and wish him well.

---

All good points, but... Sueing and McNeill?

---

What is an AAU offense? Every man for himself?

---

So, I used to coach AAU (10-25 years ago, so it may have changed since then). However, a key facet of AAU, was that your roster was often in flux. You might have a solid core, but players would come and go with incredible frequency (as in game to game - particularly, if you weren't one of the dominant teams like the Soldiers). As a result, the offenses need to be very simple and quick to learn. This lends itself to too much individualism, but also the offenses tend to focus on attacking Man defenses vs zone defenses (because, similarly to offense, the defenses tend to be simple man to man to account for the randomness of personnel).

Not sure if that was what HD was referring to or if it even addresses your question . . . but that's my $0.02

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Thanks very much for the information.