Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 1, 1990 TAG: 9007010224
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
We'll find out.
That was Miami Heat coach Ron Rothstein's three-word refrain Friday when asked about the former Virginia Tech basketball star whom Miami picked up in a draft-day deal with Sacramento for point guard Rory Sparrow.
Rothstein's investigation of Coles will have a focus: Why did Coles attempt 22 shots per game while struggling to bring his shooting percentage above 40.
"A lot of people felt he was a selfish player," Rothstein said of the predraft report on Coles. "That was the rap on him based on his performance [for Tech] and his performance in Orlando [Fla., at a predraft camp]. He took a lot of ill-advised shots and didn't pass the ball as much as he should have.
"I don't judge anybody until I coach them. But I saw some of that."
Coles has been grilled about his poor shooting percentage and about what many consider his sub-par senior year, even though he led the Metro Conference with 25.3 points per game. He admits he has been in a shoot-first mode through college, but says he will change once he gets to the NBA.
If he shirks the selfish tag, he could have it made with Rothstein. Some Heat observers have said that Coles is a cinch to be the backup for starting second-year point guard Sherman Douglas.
Rothstein, who was Chuck Daly's No. 1 assistant at Detroit when the Pistons won the NBA title in 1989, and Heat partner Billy Cunningham were on the staff of an NBA exhibition team that played against the 1988 U.S. Olympic hopefuls in Charlotte, N.C.
"There's no question about the kid's ability to play the game," Rothstein said. "Now: Will he make it? We'll find out."
Rothstein said the NBA game has moved beyond the era of point guards who are strictly passers and not scorers and called Coles a "pure scorer." Still, he said, some reining in will occur in Miami's rookie camp and its preseason camp, which begins Oct. 4.
"I don't know if you ever change someone quite that drastically," Rothstein said when asked if he would try to break Coles and turn him into a passer. "But if you can make someone more aware, he has a better chance [to make it]."
Rothstein said Miami's youth contributes to his up-tempo offensive philosophy, and said he likes to press on defense. Coles was regarded as one of the Metro Conference's most physical and best defensive guards.
"If you're asking me if I like guys who can get up and pressure the ball, my answer to you is, absolutely," Rothstein said.
Can Coles do that in the NBA?
"We'll find out," he said.
Coles' competition to back up Douglas likely will come from 6-foot-3 second-year man Scott Haffner, a natural shooting guard from Evansville who has been asked to play some point guard for Miami. He averaged 13 minutes and 4.6 points per game last year during Miami's 18-64 season.
Rothstein said it is likely the Heat will bring "one or two" free-agent guards into camp. A Heat spokesman said the team may sign former Florida point guard 6-3 Clifford Lett, who spent most of last year in the Continental Basketball Association. The Miami Herald reported that the Heat has invited two guards, including former Florida State guard Tharon Mayes, to its rookie camp.
"[Coles] has to prove that he can play," Rothstein said. "That's what I want."
by CNB