Having seen Joe Coleman play last year at Hopkins, it's no secret I've been high on the freshman from the start.
But, of course, he is still a freshman. Coleman can be a dynamic player, yes, but in the modest minutes he's played so far heading into tonight's game at Indiana, he's still learning and growing in his collegiate role.
Take, for example, his performance Sunday in the loss at home against Purdue. Coleman finished with 14 points and six rebounds, stats that are solid in and of themselves, no matter what year a player is – after all, no currently active Gophers player has been able to average as much this season.
But there were aspects beyond the offensive numbers that have Smith see-sawing between continuing to start Coleman or switching back to former starter Austin Hollins.
A couple of things Smith pointed out yesterday:
• Defense. This is probably the biggest one for defensive-minded Smith, who sees Coleman's natural immaturity off-the-ball and realizes that Hollins presents a fairly significant upgrade in that aspect.
• Shot selection. Coleman went 4-for-13 from the field on Sunday, perhaps evidence of the freshman being a bit too eager, especially in the second half, after he had seen a few drop and was feeling pretty good. In a span of 3.5 minutes in the second half, as Purdue was expanding its lead, Coleman took two jumpers and a layup, missing all three.
Even so, he realizes that both those things will probably come with time and the hard work he knows is a given.
"You get caught between, well Joe's done some good things, but Austin's our better defender," Smith said. "You wish you could have all those ingredients and all those characteristics in each individual player, but every player has their strengths and their weaknesses … I expect him to just get better and better. Because he's a workaholic. He finds a way in the gym, just like his brother [ex-Gopher Dan Coleman] and all those kids that come out of that program at Hopkins."
Whether Smith is willing to let Coleman do that maturing and growing in the starting lineup remains to be seen, but the player immediately sees the differences between starting and coming off the bench as far as making adjustments and finding a groove in-game.
"Sometimes you might get thrown in there in a crucial moment, and you might not be in the feel of everything and you might make a mistake and come out," Coleman said. "It's difficult to come in right away and have the pressure of contributing right away before you get the feel of everything …that definitely takes a toll on you. But then again, this is a business. You've got to be ready – it's your job to be ready."
