By the summer of 2009 Providence fans were very familiar with Gerard Coleman. Under the previous regime, they were also too familiar with identifying top talent early, but not closing the deal.
Universally regarded as a top 60 player nationally, Friartown hoped for the best, but feared the allure of Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies or an equally big name school would be difficult for a first year coach to match.
In a May interview with Evan Daniels of Scout.com Coleman mentioned visiting Providence and upcoming plans to visit Clemson and Connecticut as well. Miami, Marquette, and Florida were other teams mentioned at the time. In other words, Providence was going up against the perennial powers of college basketball and Friar fans hung on, hoping Keno Davis could make a recruiting statement early in his tenure at PC.
A month after the article was published Keno Davis served notice that he and his staff would be a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail. Gerard Coleman committed to Providence in mid-June and Davis had his statement.
"I had been to the campus two or three times before I visited again in June and I just got a really good vibe walking arond there. Walking around campus, I could just see myself there," Coleman told FriarBasketball. "Keno Davis graduates 95% of his players, which was important to me. One day the basketball is going to stop bouncing."
Legends like Pitino and Calhoun had called, but Keno's youth was a positive for Gerard, "Coach Davis is a young guy and having a coach that I knew would be there for all four years was important to me."
When asked what Friar fans can expect next season, O'neil focused less on the physical skills his senior captain will bring to Providence, but his attitude, "Gerard's ego is in a really good place. He knows there are a lot of good players at Providence and this is a whole other level. He'll do anything he can to help the team."
The Tilton head man and Coleman talk about what to expect next year and also have a solid grasp on the current Friar roster. "We didn't play Patterson last year, but I saw Vincent Council twice and thought he was tremendous. Gerard is going to play well with him. Dixon has contributed well for a freshman big guy and that kid from Texas they have coming next year (Joe Young) is really good too."
Talk to Gerard about the Friars and he's quick to point out Providence's style of play or Greedy Peterson's monster game against Rutgers. He's fully tuned into what is going on in Providence.
In the Fold and Taking Off
The summer AAU circuit proved to be a preview of what his senior season would entail. With Coombs-McDaniel and Oriakhi off to college and super point guard Phil Pressey (Missouri) moving to Texas, Coleman found himself in a role that he made his reputation at West Roxbury with: the lead scorer on a team that needed him to score in bunches to win.
After a successful spring leading BABC, Coleman's reputation was cemented as one of the top guards in the class of 2010. Further evidence came when he was invited to the Paul Pierce Skills Academy in late June, where he earned rave reviews going up against top 10 talent like Harrison Barnes (North Carolina), Kyrie Irving (Duke), and Will Barton (Memphis).
In July Coleman's stock was summarized well by Ray Mernagh of nbebasketball.com after a strong showing at the star-studded King City Classic in Cleveland:
"Props to Keno Davis and Providence on getting this kid... He compares favorably to Will Barton and (is) a better decision maker when faced with pass/shoot read. Coleman's play stood out and he arguably had the best showing of any player in Cleveland."
Teaming Up with an Old Friend
While Coleman was in Cleveland the Providence staff was busy landing their second commitment for the class of 2010, burly power forward Ron Giplaye of Notre Dame Prep. According to Richard Coren of ScoutFriars.com, rumors of Giplaye's commitment had swirled since Coleman committed to Providence.
The reason? Gerard and Ron are close friends after having played on the same AAU team for years. When asked about Giplaye's game, Coleman's voice noticably perked up, "Ron is a hard-nosed dude who won't back down from anyone. He's a great teammate, a rebounding machine, and would run through a brick wall for you. Ron will do anything to win."
After comparing his rebounding ability to Greedy Peterson's I asked Gerard if the potential to team up with Ron played a factor in his college choice. His response, "I've known Ron since I was 16 as we've been teammates on BABC. We had been talking about committing to the same school for a good 8 months before it happened."
Playing on Another Level
Coleman's senior season at Tilton has been outstanding. A quick look at the box scores tells the story of how the future Friar has handled being the main scorer playing against the best competition in America. In the first three games of 2010, Coleman built off of a stellar first semester with scoring outburts of 35, 36, and 45 points.
Marcus O'neil tells another story. A story of growth as both a player and a person, "The one thing that makes Gerard stand out is that he's an extremely confident guy who just finds ways to score. He's extremely competitive and has an ability to slice through defenses, making hard shots look easy. He doesn't need much of an opening to get to the basket."
O'neil explained, "Gerard does a lot of stuff you can't teach. He's done a lot of work on his outside shot, and while it's a bit streaky, he really does have the full repertoire offensively," he continued, "He has made a lot of progress on and off the court. He's our captain and by nature a quiet guy, but he's put a lot of energy into leading by example and has been pretty good in that regard. Our players all look to him to lead because he is so good."
While Gerard is looking forward to enrolling at Providence next fall he has some unfinished business first. "My goal right now is to win that championship. It doesn't matter how many points I score or dunks I get, the championship is the number one goal."
Coleman did allow himself to look ahead some and commented that he hopes to build upon the tradition of Providence basketball that he learned more about on his visits to PC. He's excited to learn under Keno Davis, commenting on what a great job he did getting Drake to the NCAA Tournament in his one year there, and passed along this message to Providence players and fans, "Good luck the rest of the way. I can't wait to get there."
Friar fans are finding it hard to wait, Gerard.
