Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990 TAG: 9003032554
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
However, at times this season he has given Virginia Tech basketball fans a glimpse of ugliness with poor play. Some observers who watched Coles as a 1988 Olympian and with Tech in '88-89 have muttered that this isn't the same player.
And Coles, who decided against entering the NBA draft as a junior last year, hasn't been able to carry the young Hokies to success. Tech treaded water until a recent losing streak dunked it, leaving the Hokies with a 12-17 record going into today's game against Memphis State.
For perhaps the first time in his career, Coles has heard questions about his play.
"There's always talk that I was overrated and stuff like that," said Coles, the all-time leading scorer for Virginia Tech and the Metro Conference, who plays his final regular-season game today at 1 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum. "I never did worry about that. I knew I wasn't shooting good and I was taking a lot of bad shots. But I think the pro scouts realized what was going on."
Apparently, he's right. One year ago, after the Hokies' season-ending upset of Memphis State, Coles announced he would return for his senior year at Tech. In doing so, he stayed out of a point guard-heavy draft; seven of the first 28 players chosen last year were playmakers.
Despite the drop in his shooting percentage (from 45.5 last year to 40.3 this season) and the fact that he already has a career-high turnover total (97), NBA scouts don't seem to be shunning Coles.
Nor do sports agents. Coles said he will sign with an agent this month after touring the firms of the three who are courting him: Bob Woolf from Boston, Bill Strickland from ProServ in Washington, D.C., and Richard Howell from Atlanta.
"In the case of Coles, I disregard his senior year, and all of us certainly feel that has no reflection on his true ability," said Marty Blake, the NBA's scouting director. "He can handle the ball, he's a pretty good shooter, he's quick, he's a good defender. What else do you want?"
At best, Coles is regarded as the No. 3 senior point guard in the country - behind Oregon State's Gary Payton and Michigan's Rumeal Robinson - and some rate him behind St. John's star Boo Harvey. Coles, though, said he thinks he will be a first-round draft pick, and he's not without support.
"I try to catch all the first-rounders more than once," said Boston Celtics scout Rick Weitzman, who said he scouted Coles three times.
For Coles, the key may be his play at the Orlando All-Star Classic, which begins April 4. The NBA invites the players it considers the nation's top college seniors to participate in a six-day workout. The players are split into teams for three days of games, and NBA scouts flock to the event.
"[For] a guy like Bimbo, it's going to be a really important April for him when he's in Orlando," said Ed Badger, director of basketball operations for the Charlotte Hornets. "One of the things everyone will consider is he was with the Olympic team and had a nice run with them, and the team at Virginia Tech hasn't been the best.
"[In Orlando], you see them practice for three days and see them play for three days. That's six days where you really get to know them. And normally, they're playing against people they're going to be competing against [in the NBA].
Coles is neither gung-ho nor afraid.
"I just want to go down there and play well, not put any pressure on myself to play well," he said in a recent interview. "If I go down there and pressure myself, I won't have a good time, and, plus, I probably won't play well."
Coles has played well enough to become only the second Tech men's basketball player, along with Dell Curry, to have his jersey retired. That will occur during pregame ceremonies today. That's attention that Coles, not as shy as when he arrived at Tech but just as unassuming, could do without.
In fact, Coles is turning down postseason offers as quickly as he pushes the ball upcourt in transition. He said no to an all-star tournament in Tokyo, and to one in Portsmouth. He said if he is invited to play in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' All-American game March 29 in Denver before the Final Four, he won't play.
And, he said, he will turn down the NBA if the league asks him to travel to New York for draft day in June. For the homebody from Lewisburg, W.Va., a big production holds no attraction.
"I remember watching Shelton Jones [of St. John's]," Coles said. "He was there two years ago, and man, he sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and I don't even think he got drafted [until the second round]. And I was like, ` Man!' "
Not that Coles thinks he'd be a crumb left over, a second-round scrap. Ask him to compare himself to Payton, Robinson and the like, and the answer comes quickly.
"We might be the same quality players on offense, but I think my defense is better," Coles said. "I remember when I was recruited by [then-Tech assistant] coach [Bobby] Stevens, he said, `You're going to be the best defensive guard in the Metro Conference.' I said, `Really?'
"[But] I've always taken pride in playing defense. I'd rather go down and score on them and come back and shut them down. It just makes you feel a lot better."
Weitzman, at least, said he hasn't seen much to make him question Coles ability to play in the NBA.
"His strengths are his penetration to the hoop, his ability to take it into the paint," Weitzman said Feb. 24 before watching Coles shred Florida State for 37 points. "He can score in there. He can get his shot off without any problem. He needs to work on more consistency from the outside and more penetration with the idea of dishing it off. I think he can do that. I don't think there's any question about his overall talent."
There is a question, however, about whether Coles is ready for the NBA - not whether he's ready for the competition, but whether he's ready for the travel and the big-city life. Remember, this is the guy who nearly quit the Olympic trials because he was homesick.
"I am nervous about that," said Coles, who said he hopes to play for Charlotte, because it is closest to home. "I'm leaving, I'm going to be by myself, I'm not going to have my mother an hour and a half away. . . . I think my mother's more nervous than I am. She's like, `You're leaving, who knows where you'll be, you'll be by yourself, who's going to feed you?'
"But I don't care [who drafts me]. Wherever I go, I'm going to work my butt off."
by CNB