Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 15, 1990 TAG: 9004150118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And, oh, yes, he's played a little basketball.
"He's been aggressive, he's showing he's a tough kid, and he's been able to handle the point," said Ed Manning, assistant coach and scout for the San Antonio Spurs. "He's made a few mistakes, but that's part of it. He's opened the eyes of a lot of scouts here.
"I would say he's helped himself a lot."
Manning and a slew of other NBA scouts are in Orlando for the Orlando All-Star Basketball Classic, which features 36 of the country's top collegiate seniors competing in a round-robin tournament. The tournament, run by NBA scouting director Marty Blake, is designed to give the league's teams a concentrated look at some of the probable draft prospects competing against each other in games using NBA rules.
Earlier this year, several NBA scouts said the Orlando tournament was important for Coles. Although well-known for his stint with the 1988 U.S. Olympic team, he didn't get much exposure playing for Virginia Tech. And Coles, Tech's only consistent offensive threat last season, had stretches of ineffectiveness.
However, his play in games Thursday and Friday - he led his South team to two wins - apparently is turning heads. At least Coles said he has heard pleasant whispers.
"Right now, they're saying I'm possibly a lottery pick," said Coles, referring to the nine spots in the draft occupied by the teams who don't make the playoffs. "My stock really went up a lot more."
But that high? Even one scout who has been wowed by the former Hokie is skeptical. "When you take the whole package, I don't think he's going to go in the lottery," said Stan Novak, director of scouting for the world champion Detroit Pistons.
Novak, however, said Coles' play in Orlando has boosted the 6-foot-1 guard from a probable late first-round pick in the June draft to a middle first-round choice.
"He's played very well," Novak said. "He's certainly proven down here that he can score. He's handling the ball pretty well; he gets to where he wants to get to."
Coles and the other players got to Orlando a week ago. In the tournament's first two games, Coles led his South team to two victories and a berth in the championship game Saturday night. In the first game, Coles was the South's high scorer with 27 points. In the second, he had 18 points and 11 assists.
For Coles, it's so far, so good.
"I don't have to come down and worry about shooting every time," he said from his Orlando hotel room. "It's much better that way."
"I haven't been shooting the way I did in school," he added, chuckling.
Coles' shooting percentage at Tech barely reached 40 by season's end. But he said in the all-star games and the practice scrimmages he's been on the mark.
And Coles said playing point guard with a 24-second shot-clock instead of a 45-second clock has made little difference.
"Usually, we're down and back before that has any effect," Coles said, referring to the up-tempo style of play.
During Tech's season, Hokies coach Frankie Allen worried about playing Coles 40 minutes per game and wearing him down. Coles, though, said he never felt tired, and he has kept up that pace in the Orlando tournament, playing 44 minutes in the first game and 39 in the second.
Coles said he had played basketball only a couple of times since the Hokies' season ended in early March, and he said that being rested may have helped him in Orlando.
Defensively, Coles has guarded the likes of Texas' Travis Mays and Kansas State's Steve Henson. Novak and Manning each said Coles' defense has been adequate, but they agreed he must get stronger if he is to guard bigger players and withstand the 82-game NBA schedule.
Though Coles has been impressive, Novak listed several other guards who have caught the eyes of scouts. Mays, Novak said, is the best guard in Orlando, and Ohio University's Dave Jamerson and Jacksonville's Dee Brown - two relative unknowns - have begun building their resumes.
Also impressive, Novak said, was Connecticut's Tate George. Novak said George has a chance to make the NBA as a big point guard.
Novak said he doesn't doubt Coles' NBA potential - with a minor change or two.
"He's never really been asked to distribute the ball on his team," Novak said. "I think that's going to be a question mark.
"His mentality might have to change a little bit when he plays in the NBA. [But] I think he can do that."
by CNB