by Chris Raimondi
Making the jump from Junior College to Division I basketball and becoming a team’s leading scorer doesn’t usually happen, unless you’re Orlando Coleman.
Coaches Lewis Preston and Jimmy Lallathin didn’t know what to expect out of the seven new transfers on KSU’s basketball team when the season began, but Coleman is helping them figure it out by stepping up as the team’s go-to guy.
Before he was an Atlantic Sun Conference top 25 scorer, top 10 rebounder and top five in field goal percentage, Coleman was busy lighting it up in the Alabama Community College Conference where he played for Alabama Southern Community College. While in Monroeville, Coleman averaged 18.7 points and 11.6 rebounds, which earned him first team all-region honors. He led the state of Alabama in rebounding and was sixth in points. Coleman’s junior college career ended with him being ranked one of the top junior college players in the country, which caught the eye of coach Preston.
“Coach Lallathin and coach Preston recruited me and I just fell in love with the place, really; with the environment and with the ability in coaching,” Coleman said. The environment seems to be just right for the sophomore because his game has translated to the Division I level flawlessly for the coaching staff.
“He’s been wonderful,” KSU interim head coach Lallathin said. “A lot of different pieces have been added in and with the chemistry thing and some of the things that they have gone through, Orlando has shown up every day to practice and his work ethic is second-to-none.” Coleman is averaging over 10 points and 5.8 rebounds per game through his first 21 games at the Division I level.
A steep learning curve usually stymies young players coming from the junior college level, but Coleman has taken on the challenge fearlessly.
“The biggest difference was really the speed of the game and the talent,” Coleman said on his transfer to Division I basketball. “In Ju-Co you have a few good players, but at the Division I level everyone at every position is pretty good.”
Perhaps the greatest feat of his young career took place on the road against one of the NCAA’s biggest basketball schools in Indiana. Coleman went for 18 points and nine rebounds against the Hoosiers.
Coleman’s hard work and talent have helped him earn his minutes among the coaching staff, but his humility and drive are what have gained him respect in the locker room.
“I just try to do what I can.” Coleman said. “I don’t try to do too much. I just try to get involved and let the pieces fall in place.”
The Owls have battled the uncertainties of team chemistry and leadership all season with so many players entering their first year at KSU, but Coleman could quickly become the leading candidate to help guide the team in future years.
“Leadership is individual,” said Lallathin. “Orlando is evolving into that. It’s funny to see him evolve mentally, physically and basketball wise. I think there is a lot of untapped potential with him that’s going to continue to grow and I’m excited to see it.”
This season has been a daunting one for the Owls by having to endure one of the toughest non-conference schedules in school history, losing a fifth-year senior in Drew McGhee during the preseason and losing their coach just as the New Year came. However, Coleman gave insight as to what keeps him and the team hungry.
“It’s the team believing in ourselves,” Coleman said. “We haven’t accomplished yet what we know we can, but we’re on our way.”
As a redshirt sophomore, Coleman has many more years to build at KSU and the coaching staff is anxious to see what the future will look like. “He has 20 games of Division I experience under his belt,” Lallathin said. “Where he is going to be, I think, is going to be exciting.”
