![]() He took two visits - to West Virginia and Tech. ![]() "I had tons of boxes I threw letters in," he said. He was more heavily recruited in football than basketball, but announced in his senior year that he wanted to play basketball in college. After his senior year, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies.Īs a basketball player, Coles averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds in his senior year. He said he had never considered it before, but that we were having a hard time at home and if he went into the NBA, he could help me.Ĭoles played shortstop, second base, center field and pitched for Greenbrier's baseball team. "We talked and I asked him why he was even considering it. "People were talking, and I think somebody suggested to him that he go hardship," Darlene Coles said. She just had to get her son to realize what that was. My mom came down and talked about it with me, but it was nothing really big."ĭarlene Coles' advice was simple: Do what you want to do. It was something in my mind and I wanted to think about it for a while. "I was thinking about it, but it was not really a major decision. I should have known better than to tell him. "A reporter asked me the question in the dressing room and he was like, `I'm not going to print this,' so I said, `Well, yes, I'm thinking about going.' Two days later, it was in the paper. "I thought about it, but I think it was blown up too much," Coles said. Coles said he would announce his future plans after the MSU game that Saturday. A week before the Hokies' season finale against Memphis State last season, a newspaper reported that Coles was considering turning pro after his junior year. The money may be different if I don't get drafted, but after four years, I could be playing well and get a different contract."Ĭoles' venture to the NBA almost began a year early - or so some thought. I'm not going to worry about not making it. If I don't get drafted in the first or second round, I'm going to work my butt off and make a team. ![]() "Even if I don't, I'll make a club anyway. "I hope I go in the first round," Coles said. And you're talking about guys like Isiah (Thomas) and Spud Webb." Said one team scout, "There are three, maybe four, guards in the NBA right now who go baseline-to-baseline as fast as Bimbo Coles does. His game seems suited for the NBA - quick, up-tempo, yet usually under control. One of the things I like best about him is that he's a competitor."Īnd Blake's the one who predicted stardom for Joe Dumars, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen, which he won't let you forget.īlake won't forecast when Coles will go in the draft, but he and most NBA scouts agree he probably will be a middle-to-late pick in the first round. He's a tough kid and if he gets to the NBA, he'll be a good player. Magic Johnson couldn't make a layup when he came out of school. "Some people say he doesn't shoot well," Blake said. Marty Blake, the league's director of scouting, says that's bogus. There are those who say Coles' suspect jump shot will hurt him in the June NBA draft. But Coles also has been guilty of trying to force it at times, as he readily admits. Part of the reason for the shooting problems is that Coles is a constant object of double-team or box-and-one defenses. His scoring average is down slightly at 25.5 points per game and he is shooting only 40.5 percent from the field. "That says a lot."īut Coles' numbers have suffered. "Not once have I heard him say anything negative about anyone on the team," said former Hokie quarterback Cam Young, another Big Dog. Coles has to carry the load, which puts a lot of pressure on even the best of players. It's been frustrating losing all the time."Ĭoles won't admit it, but he must know he's the Hokies' only legitimate talent. But I haven't been frustrated with any of the players or anything like that, it's just been frustrating that we have the talent and haven't been able to put it all together and play well every game. "I've had a great career here and I've had fun at Virginia Tech, and I'm not going to let the losing take anything away from that. "I'd love to leave here with a winning record," Coles said.
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