University of Minnesota Athletics
Inside, Outside: Freshman Forward Dan Coleman
2/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Coleman attended high school at Hopkins High School, which is probably very familiar to Gopher fans by now. While at Hopkins, Coleman earned three letters with the basketball team under coach Ken Novak and played well enough to earn all-state and all-conference honors his junior and senior seasons, culminating with a Minnesota 4AAAA State championship Coleman's junior year of 2002. Part of the reason for his success Coleman points to playing alongside former Gopher and current Utah Jazz forward Kris Humphries while at Hopkins. "We played against each other every day and competing against players at a high level will help make you a better basketball player," Coleman said.
Continuing his success during his senior season Coleman averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game becoming a finalist for Mr. Basketball and an all-area pick while leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the Minnesota State Tournament. Because of his success at the high school level, college coaches came knocking on his door. Coleman chose to accept a scholarship to play at Boston College. After enrolling in summer classes in Chesnut Hill, Coleman decided that he wanted to be closer to home and that Boston College wasn't for him and the University of Minnesota was as close as close can get. After being released from his scholarship at Boston College, Coleman contacted the Gophers and let them know right away that he wanted to play here even though there were other schools still interested.
"We knew Dan was a very talented player, especially on the offensive end," assistant coach Vic Couch said. "When he contacted us and said he wanted to come back home we were very excited."
Coleman soon signed a scholarship offer to play for the Gophers, but would have to sit out the 2003-04 season due to transfer rules. That season was a learning experience. Coleman learned quite about himself and the coaches gained knowledge about their new student-athlete.
Having to sit on the sidelines and not being able to compete with your teammates, whatever the sport may be, is not an easy thing to for any athlete, however much can be learned during that time. "I learned that there is nothing better than playing, and the time off helped me learn the system and positions better, basically it helped me grow as a player," Coleman said.
Sitting out last year not only taught Coleman what he needed to work on, but also gave him a chance to show the coaches his skills during practice. "We noticed right away (last season) how hard of a worker he is and the most obvious thing is that he can put the ball in the basket," Couch said. "He wasn't where he needed to be, but he works hard at it and every day we see the things he can do as a freshman and we pro-rate that to when he becomes a senior to how good he is going to be."
Coleman definitely proved how hard he worked during last season and he was selected to join the Big Ten All-Star Team that traveled and competed in France and Italy this past August. Overseas, Coleman averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, further demonstrating his skills and abilities he can offer the Gophers.
The most important thing that Coleman brings to the Gophers is his ability to be an inside scoring threat along with his outside perimeter shooting ability. "The most obvious thing is that he can put the ball in the basket and that is something that is a premium skill in this sport," Couch noted. "Especially for a guy with his size who can shoot from the perimeter. We knew that he was a luxury to have."
Besides scoring, there is more to Coleman's game including the ability to play at both ends of the court. "I would consider myself an all-around, versatile player who can score, rebound and play defense," Coleman said.
However there are parts of his game that Coleman admits he needs to work on including becoming a better defender as well as getting stronger and more conditioned, areas that any freshman can continue to improve upon. Coleman's progress and learning ability has certainly impressed Coach Couch and he realizes there is still more to be done this year and for the future. "We expect him to learn this year, and find out what it takes to play in the Big Ten, but we think he will learn what it takes and that he is going to grow and become a more physical player on the defensive end," Couch said. "Most freshman come in and don't understand what it takes to play at this level, and he is learning that so we expect him to grow in those areas and develop his offensive abilities as well."
This season, Coleman has started 11 games and has been averaging 23.4 minutes per game, tops amongst the freshmen on the team. With those minutes Coleman has been averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game to go along with 40 percent shooting beyond the arc. The Gophers know that as the season progresses those statistics will continue to improve, and throughout his career.
Looking towards the future, both Couch and Coleman agree that this Gophers squad has great things ahead. Coleman, along with his other teammates, feel that the team has a strong nucleus that will continue to improve and surprise, this season and future seasons. "I just want to help the team win as many games as possible, this year and in the future. As a team, we want to win as many games as possible and to build on that next year, hopefully we will achieve our goal and get into the NCAA Tournament," Coleman said. "We are definitely a determined and resilient team, we will do what is necessary to win games." The coaches agree that this team has a lot of great players and are very capable of winning a lot of games in the Big Ten and know that they are going to surprise everyone. They also know that Coleman is a very important part now, and in the future.
"The big thing that Dan brings to this team or this program for us is future stability," Couch said. "To have a freshman that is that skilled and versatile that we know he is just going to get better and better. For us, it is excitement and a point of reference on where to recruit to go around and play with Dan. He's an anchor right now."
You may also see him hanging out around campus with his roommates Moe Hargrow, Jordan Nuness, and Kerry Wooldridge. More importantly, however, this season, you are going to be seeing a lot of Coleman on the court along with the rest of his talented Gopher teammates battling for the chance at a Big Ten title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant Some college athletes choose to attend a school that will help them compete at the highest level, athletically and academically. Sometimes that means leaving home. For Gophers redshirt freshman forward Dan Coleman, being home was an important part of the challenge equation and he feels that he has gotten the best of both worlds while being able to be close to home. While growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, he was always able to compete in sports and have the support of his family, including his parents, David and Julie Coleman. As far back as Coleman can remember, he played sports but none of them captured his heart and attention as the game of basketball.
Coleman attended high school at Hopkins High School, which is probably very familiar to Gopher fans by now. While at Hopkins, Coleman earned three letters with the basketball team under coach Ken Novak and played well enough to earn all-state and all-conference honors his junior and senior seasons, culminating with a Minnesota 4AAAA State championship Coleman's junior year of 2002. Part of the reason for his success Coleman points to playing alongside former Gopher and current Utah Jazz forward Kris Humphries while at Hopkins. "We played against each other every day and competing against players at a high level will help make you a better basketball player," Coleman said.
Continuing his success during his senior season Coleman averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game becoming a finalist for Mr. Basketball and an all-area pick while leading the Royals to a third-place finish in the Minnesota State Tournament. Because of his success at the high school level, college coaches came knocking on his door. Coleman chose to accept a scholarship to play at Boston College. After enrolling in summer classes in Chesnut Hill, Coleman decided that he wanted to be closer to home and that Boston College wasn't for him and the University of Minnesota was as close as close can get. After being released from his scholarship at Boston College, Coleman contacted the Gophers and let them know right away that he wanted to play here even though there were other schools still interested.
"We knew Dan was a very talented player, especially on the offensive end," assistant coach Vic Couch said. "When he contacted us and said he wanted to come back home we were very excited."
Coleman soon signed a scholarship offer to play for the Gophers, but would have to sit out the 2003-04 season due to transfer rules. That season was a learning experience. Coleman learned quite about himself and the coaches gained knowledge about their new student-athlete.
Having to sit on the sidelines and not being able to compete with your teammates, whatever the sport may be, is not an easy thing to for any athlete, however much can be learned during that time. "I learned that there is nothing better than playing, and the time off helped me learn the system and positions better, basically it helped me grow as a player," Coleman said.
Sitting out last year not only taught Coleman what he needed to work on, but also gave him a chance to show the coaches his skills during practice. "We noticed right away (last season) how hard of a worker he is and the most obvious thing is that he can put the ball in the basket," Couch said. "He wasn't where he needed to be, but he works hard at it and every day we see the things he can do as a freshman and we pro-rate that to when he becomes a senior to how good he is going to be."
Coleman definitely proved how hard he worked during last season and he was selected to join the Big Ten All-Star Team that traveled and competed in France and Italy this past August. Overseas, Coleman averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, further demonstrating his skills and abilities he can offer the Gophers.
The most important thing that Coleman brings to the Gophers is his ability to be an inside scoring threat along with his outside perimeter shooting ability. "The most obvious thing is that he can put the ball in the basket and that is something that is a premium skill in this sport," Couch noted. "Especially for a guy with his size who can shoot from the perimeter. We knew that he was a luxury to have."
Besides scoring, there is more to Coleman's game including the ability to play at both ends of the court. "I would consider myself an all-around, versatile player who can score, rebound and play defense," Coleman said.
However there are parts of his game that Coleman admits he needs to work on including becoming a better defender as well as getting stronger and more conditioned, areas that any freshman can continue to improve upon. Coleman's progress and learning ability has certainly impressed Coach Couch and he realizes there is still more to be done this year and for the future. "We expect him to learn this year, and find out what it takes to play in the Big Ten, but we think he will learn what it takes and that he is going to grow and become a more physical player on the defensive end," Couch said. "Most freshman come in and don't understand what it takes to play at this level, and he is learning that so we expect him to grow in those areas and develop his offensive abilities as well."
This season, Coleman has started 11 games and has been averaging 23.4 minutes per game, tops amongst the freshmen on the team. With those minutes Coleman has been averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game to go along with 40 percent shooting beyond the arc. The Gophers know that as the season progresses those statistics will continue to improve, and throughout his career.
Looking towards the future, both Couch and Coleman agree that this Gophers squad has great things ahead. Coleman, along with his other teammates, feel that the team has a strong nucleus that will continue to improve and surprise, this season and future seasons. "I just want to help the team win as many games as possible, this year and in the future. As a team, we want to win as many games as possible and to build on that next year, hopefully we will achieve our goal and get into the NCAA Tournament," Coleman said. "We are definitely a determined and resilient team, we will do what is necessary to win games." The coaches agree that this team has a lot of great players and are very capable of winning a lot of games in the Big Ten and know that they are going to surprise everyone. They also know that Coleman is a very important part now, and in the future.
"The big thing that Dan brings to this team or this program for us is future stability," Couch said. "To have a freshman that is that skilled and versatile that we know he is just going to get better and better. For us, it is excitement and a point of reference on where to recruit to go around and play with Dan. He's an anchor right now."
You may also see him hanging out around campus with his roommates Moe Hargrow, Jordan Nuness, and Kerry Wooldridge. More importantly, however, this season, you are going to be seeing a lot of Coleman on the court along with the rest of his talented Gopher teammates battling for the chance at a Big Ten title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant
