Post by WHSGAA on Dec 23, 2011 6:51:14 GMT -5
Crenshaw: Former Cavalier Justin Coleman should keep what's truly important in line
Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Birmingham News, December 22, 2011 7 a.m.
Point guard Justin Coleman, a second team all-Metro selection last season, is transferring from John Carroll Catholic High to Wenonah. (The Birmingham News/Hal Yeager)For every Carl Lewis, there is a Usain Bolt.
For every Babe Ruth, there is a Hank Aaron.
For every Julius Erving, there is a Michael Jordan.
Perhaps the only thing more certain than the certainty of the next great star is the anticipation of who it will be. This can be seen in high school sports, as well, but with the additional question of which school will get to claim his legacy.
Justin Coleman, for just one example, was seen by many basketball fans and media as the nextRonald Steele, the former John Carroll Catholic point guard who was a back-to-back Mr. Basketball in Alabama and twice led the Cavaliers to the state championship final.
Coleman appeared to have the same pedigree. As a 5-foot-8 freshman at John Carroll, he averaged 18.4 points per game and shot 89 percent from the line. He earned a spot on The Birmingham News’ All-Hoover/South team and was a second team All-Metro selection.
Cavalier fans had to be dreaming of the day when he would engineer a drive toward raising another banner in the gym on Lakeshore Drive. But that dream belongs to fans of the Wenonah Dragons now.
Coleman, now a 5-10 sophomore, transferred last week to Wenonah. The sophomore has been rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and already has received offers from Arkansas, Auburn and UAB.
"I thought it would be a better fit for me," said Coleman, who scored 26 points Dec. 10 in a win over Huntsville’s Pope John Paul II High and 21 in an 83-48 loss on Dec. 5 to the Dragons.
Steele also switched school systems. He played for Fairfield’s Forest Hills Middle School, but opted to attend John Carroll instead of Fairfield High.
Coleman chose the Cavaliers over Wenonah as he headed to high school. A 4-7 start to the 2011-12 campaign likely factored in his decision to transfer to Wenonah.
Due to AHSAA transfer rules, Coleman will have to sit out a year and won’t be eligible to play until December 2012.
The decision of which school is best — including the issue of a public school vs. a private school — is common among elite players.
Coleman’s decision reminds me of another player who was anticipated to be the next great one. I remember an eighth-grade point guard who had become all the buzz on the blacktop basketball courts.
Arthur Minter III attended Davis Middle School on the Southside of Birmingham. His flashy dribbling and passing prompted visions of Ennis Whatley, the former Phillips High star who played two years at Alabama before becoming a first-round pick of the Kansas City Kings.
As an eighth-grader, Minter weighed his options for high school, including attending Phillips High, for which he was zoned. He opted to attend Parker to play for legendary coach Cap Brown.
Minter sat out the mandatory year before joining what was then a veteran Thundering Herd squad. He would eventually garner second-team all-state honors but not nearly the acclaim that Whatley earned years before.
"I never thought of going to Phillips," said Minter, now a law enforcement officer in Southern California. "Phillips never came into the picture. I always knew it was going to be Parker. That’s where the family went."
The father of three recalls that his family did consider a private school.
"If I could do it over, I would have gone to that private school," the 36-year-old Minter said. "I don’t remember what private school. I think things would have been better."
Will Coleman rise to the same level as Steele despite following a different path? Only time will tell. He would be wise to keep his priorities properly aligned. Minter seems to have had the right idea.
"I just wanted to be the first in my household to get an education," Minter said. "I figured basketball would take care of itself. The education was more important."
Solomon Crenshaw Jr.’s column on high school sports appears on Thursdays. Write him at screnshaw@bhamnews.com.
screnshaw@bhamnews.com
Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Birmingham News, December 22, 2011 7 a.m.
Point guard Justin Coleman, a second team all-Metro selection last season, is transferring from John Carroll Catholic High to Wenonah. (The Birmingham News/Hal Yeager)For every Carl Lewis, there is a Usain Bolt.
For every Babe Ruth, there is a Hank Aaron.
For every Julius Erving, there is a Michael Jordan.
Perhaps the only thing more certain than the certainty of the next great star is the anticipation of who it will be. This can be seen in high school sports, as well, but with the additional question of which school will get to claim his legacy.
Justin Coleman, for just one example, was seen by many basketball fans and media as the nextRonald Steele, the former John Carroll Catholic point guard who was a back-to-back Mr. Basketball in Alabama and twice led the Cavaliers to the state championship final.
Coleman appeared to have the same pedigree. As a 5-foot-8 freshman at John Carroll, he averaged 18.4 points per game and shot 89 percent from the line. He earned a spot on The Birmingham News’ All-Hoover/South team and was a second team All-Metro selection.
Cavalier fans had to be dreaming of the day when he would engineer a drive toward raising another banner in the gym on Lakeshore Drive. But that dream belongs to fans of the Wenonah Dragons now.
Coleman, now a 5-10 sophomore, transferred last week to Wenonah. The sophomore has been rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and already has received offers from Arkansas, Auburn and UAB.
"I thought it would be a better fit for me," said Coleman, who scored 26 points Dec. 10 in a win over Huntsville’s Pope John Paul II High and 21 in an 83-48 loss on Dec. 5 to the Dragons.
Steele also switched school systems. He played for Fairfield’s Forest Hills Middle School, but opted to attend John Carroll instead of Fairfield High.
Coleman chose the Cavaliers over Wenonah as he headed to high school. A 4-7 start to the 2011-12 campaign likely factored in his decision to transfer to Wenonah.
Due to AHSAA transfer rules, Coleman will have to sit out a year and won’t be eligible to play until December 2012.
The decision of which school is best — including the issue of a public school vs. a private school — is common among elite players.
Coleman’s decision reminds me of another player who was anticipated to be the next great one. I remember an eighth-grade point guard who had become all the buzz on the blacktop basketball courts.
Arthur Minter III attended Davis Middle School on the Southside of Birmingham. His flashy dribbling and passing prompted visions of Ennis Whatley, the former Phillips High star who played two years at Alabama before becoming a first-round pick of the Kansas City Kings.
As an eighth-grader, Minter weighed his options for high school, including attending Phillips High, for which he was zoned. He opted to attend Parker to play for legendary coach Cap Brown.
Minter sat out the mandatory year before joining what was then a veteran Thundering Herd squad. He would eventually garner second-team all-state honors but not nearly the acclaim that Whatley earned years before.
"I never thought of going to Phillips," said Minter, now a law enforcement officer in Southern California. "Phillips never came into the picture. I always knew it was going to be Parker. That’s where the family went."
The father of three recalls that his family did consider a private school.
"If I could do it over, I would have gone to that private school," the 36-year-old Minter said. "I don’t remember what private school. I think things would have been better."
Will Coleman rise to the same level as Steele despite following a different path? Only time will tell. He would be wise to keep his priorities properly aligned. Minter seems to have had the right idea.
"I just wanted to be the first in my household to get an education," Minter said. "I figured basketball would take care of itself. The education was more important."
Solomon Crenshaw Jr.’s column on high school sports appears on Thursdays. Write him at screnshaw@bhamnews.com.
screnshaw@bhamnews.com