Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 24, 1990 TAG: 9006240067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He'll be playing basketball. Serious basketball.
Coles will be one of eight draft-eligible collegians in the One-on-One Collegiate Challenge on Monday at the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The winner gets $100,000 and the runner-up nets $50,000. Each player is guaranteed a $10,000 appearance fee.
Because the participants include 6-foot-9 Sean Higgins of Michigan, 6-5 Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount, 6-7 Lionel Simmons of LaSalle and 6-7 Willie Burton of Minnesota - 6-10 Derrick Coleman of Syracuse has pulled out of the field - it seems the 6-1 Virginia Tech star would be an underdog simply because of his size. But Coles, a former Olympian who dazzled Hokies fans for four years with his quickness, leaping ability and one-on-one moves, sees it differently.
"I think it'll be harder for them, the guys that are 6-8," said Coles, who will face 6-4 first-team All-American Gary Payton of Oregon State in the first round. "They would have to worry about guys who are 6-1, 6-2, how they're going to defend us, [rather] than me worrying about defending them. What I'm going to do is just get up under them. I'm not going to let them drive by me; [I'm going to] make them just shoot an outside shot."
Rounding out the field are two of the higher-rated guards available in the draft: 6-1 Chris Jackson of Louisiana State and 6-2 Travis Mays of Texas. Coles said he doesn't think the smaller players will be backed into the lane or overpowered.
"There's nobody throwing them the ball," he said of the big men. "They only have three seconds to shoot [in the lane]. It's hard to camp in there and try to back me down the lane."
Coles, who played in an NBA-run all-star tournament in May in Orlando, Fla., and reportedly improved his draft status, snubbed a similar gathering this month in Chicago. One NBA general manager, former Virginia Tech star Allan Bristow of the Charlotte Hornets, said he thinks Coles will be a second-round pick but said Coles' play in Atlantic City could change that.
"That's good for him," Bristow said. "Even if he moves up three or four spots, it could mean a lot where he is."
Television commentator Billy Packer agreed.
"For a team looking for a guard, a Bimbo Coles-Chris Jackson matchup might show a scout something about a guy's defensive ability when he has no teammate to help him," Packer said.
Some information for this story was contributed by The Associated Press.
by CNB