Big improvement comes in a small amount of time
Cal basketball players and roommates Don Coleman and Nick Hamilton compete against each other playing NBA2K almost every day.
One day last year, however, they tried an old version of a college basketball video game, and the result could have gone a long way toward informing this season’s expectations for the Bears.
“He was using a guy who looked like me in the game,” Coleman said. “He was going crazy.”
That digital version of Cal basketball has seemingly become reality during the first month of the season as Coleman has emerged from the obscurity of the bench to become a top scorer.
The 6-foot-3, 193-pound junior is averaging 22.7 points per game, which puts him among the nation’s top 20 scorers, and includes three games of at least 30 points. He scored a seasonhigh 35 points against then-No. 6 Wichita State, including a firsthalf outburst that had an ESPN analyst suggesting the Shockers play the box-and-one defense with the four-player box devoted to stopping Coleman.
“I worked hard this summer, so I expected this,” Coleman said.
Coleman did use Cal’s 24hour access to a gym to devote three workouts a day to mastering his ballhandling, shooting and conditioning this summer. But even with the extra work, few would have expected this — other than Coleman and, maybe, the video game.
Remarkably, he’s raised his scoring average more than 18 points, which ranks third in the country and first among major conference players. He has 12 three-pointers after going 4of-20 from long range all of last season and is averaging 8.9 free-throw attempts per game compared to 2.1 in 2016-17.
“I like being the guy everybody can count on and look to,” Coleman said. “I’ve always been like that. … Everybody breathes just like I breathe, so I’m not scared of anybody.”
Coleman’s fearlessness shows up every game as he consistently drives into the lane, takes hits from guys who outweigh him by 50 pounds and still manages to spin, arc or flip in shots. His confidence has been on display for even longer.
Even though he was on track to leave Butler High (Augusta, Ga.) as the school’s all-timeleading scorer, Coleman was drawing only low- and midmajor looks. Betting on himself to demand more attention, he decided to go to Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, Ala.
He averaged 19.9 points and 6.2 assists and — as he expected — Cal came calling.
“I’m here, so I guess that worked out,” Coleman said.
It’s hard to get Coleman to say much more than that. He generally lets his actions do the talking.
Coleman has more than 20 tattoos, but he’s guarded about explaining them. He was willing to pull up the jacket sleeve on his right wrist and uncover his favorite: a rose surrounded by the names of his mother, brother and sister — Tonya, Dhrmaine and Taiquaijha.
“I don’t even know to spell that one without looking at it,” Coleman joked, before opening up slightly about his family, which moved from Brooklyn to Georgia when he was 10.
Depending on who you ask in the Cal program, Coleman’s name is Don, D.C., Flu or J-Don, but he was actually named after Knicks 1996 draft pick Dontae’ Jones. Coleman’s brother was chasing his own basketball career until he stopped to devote his attention to the potential he saw in his sibling when he picked up the game at about 12 in Georgia.
“That was a good move for us,” Coleman said. “I was bad back then. I was for real bad. I was a knucklehead. I’m glad we moved, because it probably would have turned out bad. It got me out of a lot of trouble. …
“Once my brother saw how good I could be, he stopped playing and helped me. I still talk to him every day.”
Coleman knows everybody thinks of the Masters when they hear Augusta, but he said it’s more than grass and cows and golf. There’s a city and obviously some gyms, which is where Coleman seems most at home.
He hasn’t completely adjusted to life in Berkeley, outside of Haas Pavilion. He usually eats only chicken and steak, having just added pasta for spaghetti to his acceptable food list, and only becomes a vocal leader when absolutely necessary.
After losing three straight at the Maui Invitational, including one to Chaminade, Coleman was part of the leadership group that brought the team together for a five-hour meeting. He prefers leading by example.
While the rest of the team sulked from the bus to the hotel after a loss to Virginia Commonwealth in Maui, Coleman spotted a young Cal fan waiting outside. He high-fived the 4year-old and chatted up the boy for a while.
“That kid was happy,” Coleman said.