Just over a month ago Coleman played his worst game of the season as his Tilton team was run off of the court by an explosive and brash Brewster Academy team. Tonight's game against Winchendon was time for redemption. It was the future Friar's first game against a NEPSAC Class A power since the drubbing at Brewster and if Coleman wasn't treating this as some sort of vengence game, it sure seemed like it.
How good was Coleman on the night? How does 28 second half points against a team ESPN ranked third in their national preseason prep rankings sound? It looked even better than it sounds.
The Coleman Explosion
The explosion began with just over 13 minutes to play in the second half. After a tight first half in which neither team led by more than 7, Winchendon took control of this one early in the second half, racing out to a 60-48 lead after Angel Nunez canned a 3. It looked like the more talented preps from Winchendon would pull away. That's when Coleman took over.
In a 5 minute span came a 17 point swing. Amazingly, Winchendon led 60-48 with 13:45 to play and trailed 69-64 with 8:47 left. Coleman was at the heart of it all, scoring 18 points in under five minutes. His scoring log reads this way, according to my notes:
- 13:40: GC suspends in the air for an and-1 and hits the free throw. 60-51 Winchendon.
- 12:52: Coleman gets fouled on 3 straight drives to the basket on the next possession, the third sends him to the line. 1-2 FTs, 60-52.
- On the very next possession Coleman takes it to the hoop again and scores. Tilton climbing back into this one. I have him for 21 points now. 60-54.
- 11:20: For the fourth possession in a row GC takes it to the hoop and either scores or goes to the line. 1-2 FTs. 62-55.
- 11:05 - Deep Coleman 3 and this is a 62-58 game. What a performance by Gerard.
- 10:48 - GC steal and convert on the other end. Wow! 62-60.
- 10:15 - Coleman steals it again and gets the assist on the other end to tie it, 62-62. What a run.
- 9:24 - GC rims out a layup, but is fouled. Hits both and we're tied at 64.
- 8:47 - Unbelievable! A deep 3 right in the face of the 6'8 Ferguson. Tilton now leads 67-64. A GC steal as I write this and he lays it in! 69-64 Tilton. Timeout Winchendon. I have him unofficially at 34 points.
The final 8 minutes of this game were outstanding. Winchendon's Eric Ferguson was a force and Coleman matched him the rest of the way. Tilton pushed their lead to 6 with 4 minutes to play and GC played a big role with a leaner off of a screen ala Rip Hamilton, by draining both free throws after being flagrantly fouled, and continuing to get to the charity stripe.
Tilton had no answer for Ferguson, who kept Winchendon in the game as Coleman did for his team previously. A Khem Birch follow with 1:32 gave his team a 1 point lead, but Coleman answered with a press breaking layup the other way putting Tilton back up 1.
Ferguson once again answered with a difficult layup with 56 seconds to play to put Winchendon back up 1. With 40 seconds to go Coleman was blocked by Birch and when Winchendon gained possession there was a 3 second difference between the shot and game clocks.
Tilton head man Marcus O'neil chose not to foul with his team down one and Coleman rewarded him, making a huge play in picking off a pass and racing the other way for a 3 on 1 break. His assist with 14 seconds to play gave Tilton an 88-87 lead as the Tilton section rejoiced.
Winchendon's impressive point man Anthony Ireland got fouled on a drive and calmly swished both free throws with 7 seconds left. 89-88 Winchendon.
And that's how this game would end. Coleman flew up the left sideline, but was trapped by 3 players. He kicked it out to a Georges Niang who missed a rushed 3 as time expired.
Impressions:
Coleman: Best player in a game of great ones. I came to this game excited to see Coleman once again, but also looking forward to checking Angel Nunez and Khem Birch after they visited the Dunk last weekend. Coleman was so dominant that it was hard to focus on anything else. I had him unofficially at 46 points for the night, with countless steals.
Most encouraging, in both this game and against Notre Dame Prep, Coleman seized the moment when it looked like the game was slipping away from his team. The explosion in the 2nd half was ridiculous obviously, but what stood out most was the dimension that he can potentially bring to Providence next year. Coleman attacks the rim constantly. With Winchendon looking like they could potentially pull away in the 2nd, Coleman stemmed their momentum by getting to the free throw line repeatedly.
He hit more 3s than when I had seen him previously, but did struggle at the line some. If he made all of his free throws we could be looking at a 50 point performance.
The points will grab headlines, but his defense was also solid, as he made several key steals and raced the other way after every swipe.
If this is the type of talent Keno Davis brings to Providence year in and year out Friartown will be dancing again soon. Let's hope Birch and Nunez took notice.
Khem Birch: Birch has a ways to go offensively, but he's a good shot blocker who times it well. While not a body builder by any means he's not rail-thin for a 6'10 sophomore with springs for legs. Still not a great rebounder. Hit a 15 foot leaner and had a huge putback and block in the closing moments. Birch won't put up huge numbers on a roster filled with scorers, but he can play.
Angel Nunez: Need a glimpse into the depth of talent on Winchendon? Nunez is the 37th ranked junior nationally by ESPN and is a role player off of the bench. Playing behind the always impressive Ferguson limits his minutes. Didn't score more than 7 points per my count and it was tough to get a great read on him on this night, honestly.
Ryan Canty: Canty is the opposite of Randall Hanke. He's physical, athletic, and a willing defender, but his hands need some work and he doesn't finish well at the rim. Still, he played far better than when I saw him in the two games in Brewster and I'll be interested to see what his final rebounding numbers were. Against a big Winchendon frontcourt Canty dominated the glass off of the bench.
It was a huge step up from his play in Brewster and he has put up better numbers of late (13 and 14 versus Proctor Academy in their first game back from the break last weekend). From a PC perspective, Canty may duplicate what players like Ron Giplaye and Kadeem Batts bring to the table.
Notes:
- Brewster and Winchendon play twice in February. At this point Brewster looks like the better team, but South Kent has defeated both in the past two weeks (Brewster in OT and Winchendon by a point). The Class A playoffs should be outstanding.
- I'm beating this drum into the ground, but Tilton's ability to compete with Winchedon is a testament to Coleman's talent and the coaching job of O'neil. Tilton has future D1 kids in Canty, impressive freshman Goodluck Okonoboh, and the emerging Georges Niang ('12) looks like a player, but Coleman is forced to really carry the load scoring. The 6'7 Niang has a versatile game, with a bit an old school back to the basket game and the ability to step out and hit the 3.
- I'm not sure if Devon Saddler and Coleman are friends or rivals, but Saddler seemed really amped to play him, at one point saying "let's go, Gerard" after tying him up.
- Once again, Eric Ferguson can REALLY play.
- Mike Byrnes threw all sorts of looks at Coleman - the muscular Saddler, the 6'8 Ferguson, and finally 5'10 point guard Anthony Ireland.
- Future Villanova big man Markus Kennedy had a quiet night.
- While I'm away this weekend, Friar fans with time on their hands have two great options if they want to check out potential future Friars. The Springfield Hoophall Classic and and BABC Tournament are flooded with talent. Coleman and Tilton take on St. Andrew's on Sunday at Chelsea (MA) High.
