KU Basketball: Who Gets Left out of PG Musical Chairs?
By Kyle Abbott
Matt Coleman: #8 PG, #32 Overall
What he brings
When watching Coleman on tape, the first thing that stands out is his speed. He can flat out fly in the open court. He’s an adept ballhandler and finisher as well, able to get into the lane seemingly at will. Coleman has a solid mid-range game as well. His speed and athleticism allows him to be a pesky defender, if nothing else. He’ll get more than his share of steals at the collegiate level.
Unfortunately for Coleman, he has two qualities on offense that will limit his effectiveness as a lead guard. First, he’s not a “true” point guard in the sense that he doesn’t have a great feel for the game and isn’t a great distributor yet. He’s much too small to be an off guard, even in college at 6’1.” The left-hander hasn’t developed a consistent three-point shot yet either, though his mechanics aren’t broken.
Where will he land?
First of all, not Kansas. Coleman officially visited Kansas on October 14th-15th, but did not make his final three of Duke, Stanford, and Texas. For all intents and purposes, this is a Duke vs. Texas race. Coleman has visited Duke twice recently, on his official visit, then unofficially for Countdown to Craziness, Duke’s opening scrimmage. He recently took an official visit to Austin, on October 28-29th.
Each school has pros and cons. At Texas, Coleman would immediately come in and play significant minutes, since point guard play at Texas is lacking. Coleman would fit well in Texas coach Shaka Smart’s up-tempo, high pressure system. He would also be a marquee player to build around, a positive for anyone.
Duke is, well, Duke. They already have a terrific class signed, and are looking to add more in the late period. The Blue Devils are high in the running for two more top-10 players, Mohammad Bamba and Kevin Knox. They’ve already signed Wendell Carter and 11th-ranked Gary Trent, Jr. The Devils could also return Frank Jackson, Luke Kennard, and a slew of big men. As a point guard, that kind of supporting cast is a big plus. When you factor in one of the best home courts in college sports, as well as Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke becomes very attractive.
On the other hand, Coleman has a good chance of getting recruited over in Durham. Duke is heavily involved with multiple five-star guards in 2018, and Coleman isn’t good enough to hold some of them off for the starting job. Reports suggest Coleman could announce in December, but where he goes is far from decided. Kansas fans should hope Coleman announces for Duke. With Coleman and likely Frank Jackson in the fold, Duke won’t have any room for Trevon Duval. Speaking of…