Coleman carries banner for the future
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The freshman point guard held back tears for as long as possible in the aftermath of 10th-seeded Texas’ 87-83 overtime loss to seventhseeded Nevada. Matt Coleman’s pain was visible, palpable. But another striking feeling also filled the air: pride.
Coleman seemed tormented by his own competing emotions, like they were waging an internal war throughout his body. It made sense. Over the course of several hours on Friday in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, he had experienced the full spectrum. Joy. Shock. Fury. Hope. Dejection. All of it.
Trying to process that sort of emotional assault is difficult enough without answering questions about how and why and where and when it all went so wrong. A year of highs and lows
But here sat Coleman, fielding questions just minutes removed from a devastating defeat that also doubled as the best performance of his career — 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting and four assists in 44 minutes. He scored or assisted on 11 of UT’s 15 points in overtime and set up Kerwin Roach’s tiebreaking four-point play that briefly looked to foretell a UT win.
“Unbelievable,” a red-eyed Coleman said of his first college season. “My freshman year I got to play Duke. Went to Oregon for a Nike tournament. We won big road games. We battled through adversity. We competed in the Big 12 enough to get us to play in March. We got the opportunity to play. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.
“I’m hurt, but at the same time I’m proud. All this happened my freshman year, I experienced so much. Now, just moving forward, I know how this feels. I don’t want this feeling again.”
The future belongs to Coleman. Mo Bamba will soon declare for the NBA draft, and it will be up to the 20-year-old guard to shape this program in the coming years, even with another top15 recruiting class incoming.
Coleman’s season was filled with peaks and valleys typical of freshmen.
He outplayed national player of the year candidate Trae Young in a home win over Oklahoma. He played 49 minutes, scored 17 points and dished 12 assists in a double-overtime triumph over TCU on the day Andrew Jones’ leukemia diagnosis was made public.
With Bamba out for the regular-season finale against West Virginia, Coleman poured in 22 points in an overtime win that essentially clinched UT’s NCAA Tournament berth.
He also looked thoroughly outmatched in a 35-point thrashing at the hands of West Virginia in Morgantown. And, perhaps most painful of all, Coleman missed three consecutive free throws late in the second half of an overtime loss to Texas Tech. Had he hit them, the Longhorns almost certainly would have escaped with a win in Lubbock.
“He had his humbling moments,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “But man, he responded really well.
“And then he was terrific down the stretch for us in these games where he wasn’t really able to come out. I think he’s a cornerstone moving forward. He’s the rock. And he’s a winner.”
Junior guard Kerwin Roach likely will test the NBA draft waters but could use another year of development, especially after making so much progress this season. Jericho Sims is oozing with potential. Dylan Osetkowski and Jacob Young will be back. The 2018 recruiting class features two top-50 recruits, including Gerald Liddell and Oregon’s 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year Kamaka Hepa. Taking the next step
Coleman will be relied upon to set the tone, to conduct and lead this collection of talent on a much deeper run next March. But that will only happen as long as complacency does not set in. As Smart has learned, nothing is ever assured.
“We cannot assume,” Smart said. “We’ve learned this lesson. We can’t assume that a really good freshman year leads to being the player of the year in the league or being first-team all-conference. There are steps that need to be taken. For Matt Coleman, for everyone in our program.
“One of the biggest things I’m going to fight for all offseason long is that our guys don’t make any assumptions about what’s next. Whatever is next we have to make happen.”