The way Matt Coleman carried himself as a very young basketball player, with confidence well beyond his years, is initially what hooked Shaka Smart into recruiting him. For years the Texas head coach, who was the head coach at VCU when he began recruiting the Virginia point guard, prioritized Coleman.

Sure, the lefty’s skill, quickness, speed and athleticism stood out. However, nothing stood out more than Coleman’s impact on his teammates, and his confidence; he exuded so many traits that positively influenced winning. Heck, Smart and Texas literally handed Coleman the keys to the program while recruiting him.

But even for a highly-rated recruit with those intangibles, that scouting report, and that reputation, understanding how to make an impact the same way in college is a process. When Coleman first arrived at Texas, he thought he knew.

“I'll just say for myself it’s like night and day,” responded Coleman about his voice and ability to lead the team. “Coming in my freshman year thinking like, I knew what it took to just like lead and have a voice, but I was wrong. And then like even last year I thought I got the hang of it or I knew. But it still wasn't enough.”

Indeed it wasn’t.

Coleman, who said he’s up to 188 pounds now after playing at 174 his freshman season, has started every single game since he arrived at Texas, which means he enters the 2019-20 campaign with 71 starts. As a freshman, Coleman had a good season, but his sophomore year was more up-and-down than it should have been.

“This year I think it's like… it's more becoming of like who I am and who I want to be,” Coleman said about the added maturity he enters his junior season with compared to earlier seasons at Texas. “And, you know, I'm a junior. Jase (Febres) is a junior. Courtney (Ramey) as a sophomore played a lot of minutes as a freshman. So, now we are the guys. I was saying this summer: there’s nobody else to look up to; there are no scholarship seniors. We’re that guy now. We’re the leaders, the voice for the underclassmen and the other guys around us.”

It wasn’t enough because like his head coach Coleman is ultimately judged on one thing. Winning.

While he enters this year with 71 starts, he also enters the 2019-20 campaign with just one NCAA Tournament appearance and zero tournament wins.

“Matt is evaluated on one thing. Same thing I'm evaluated on. We're the same in that regard,” said Shaka Smart referencing wins and losses. “And I think we were talking about it the other day. I coached him on the 18-and-under National Team in 2016. He was the starting point guard. The rest of the top nine guys on that team are in the NBA, literally.

“Matt has learned a ton of valuable experiences. He saw himself then and sees himself now as no different than those other guys in terms of as a basketball player. But he has to make his team win at a high level if he wants to go or be what those guys are. He just does, and you know maybe that's not fair because a guy like Mo (Bamba) can come in and, you know, just do what he did and then he’s the No. 6 pick. But that's reality.”

What Coleman and Smart have worked on this offseason is understanding that a point guard and a leader of the program can always do more. By playing hard, starting all those games, and putting up some statistics while trying to make his voice heard, the junior point guard thought he was doing all he could. This offseason, he’s learned there is more to be done if he and Texas are going to get to where they want to be.

“It's like, you know, it’s that thing where you always can do more. And I thought I was doing enough. I thought just through my voice and just, you know, just me being somewhat of a presence every now and then that I was doing what I need to do,” said Coleman. “Doing what was I was doing… what I knew and what I was used to. But as I’m getting older and maturing, there's so much more I have learned and just watching and picking people's brains of like what I actually need to do for Texas to be… the opportunity to cut down some nets, play for a championship or just make a run.”

During the offseason and the preseason, Coleman’s teammates have noticed a difference.

“In the summer, the time I spent with coach watching film, and him just like constantly instilling this is what we need from you. This is what it's going to take and then me just owning it and doing my part on the little things of just controlling what I can control,” stated Coleman. “And I've seen the growth and I'm getting the not to say acceptance, but my teammates are feeding me with positive energy. Like, ‘Yo, I see it in you. Just keep keep doing it. Don't, don't let up don't take steps back, just keep working on it.’ And that right there, just hearing it from your teammates it just means a lot. That means like okay like what I'm doing is affecting them in a positive way so just hearing it from my teammates makes it even better for me. They’re more confident in me. And it just makes things easier.”

In order to make things easier, Smart wants Coleman to, in a way, make things harder by becoming uncomfortable.

“Yes, because he's finally learning that if he's comfortable, something's wrong,” responded Smart about Coleman’s growth as a leader. “And that's why I've tried to stay on him non-Stop this offseason. Even when he's playing well to do more and help guys other ways and challenge guys. He does so much for our program. And he's really played well. He's been by far our best player in practice by far. And he was terrific in our scrimmage (versus UTSA). But it doesn't matter if you play well if you're not bringing Player A, B and C with you.”

As the chief player in charge of making sure he brings guys along with him in order to win basketball games, Coleman has noticed a difference in the energy surrounding the team as it prepares for the season.

“The aura we have had in the gym has been different than before. We have 12 scholarship guys, and they all bring something to the table. But we don't have Mo Bamba, Jarrett Allen, Jaxson Hayes. So, we know it takes what it takes. And for us to be to be good, we have to be good here first. We have to be good in practice and we have to carry that over to the game,” Coleman stated. And we actually take pride in that.

“Another thing is just a maturity. Maturity wins games. Growth wins games. I'm a junior. Jase is a junior that's going to play a lot. Courtney is a sophomore that played a lot his freshman year. So, maturity brings wins.”

Has this team grown enough, and is it mature enough to finally give Smart his breakthrough team at Texas? We’ll see. Smart’s hand-picked point guard he wants to drive the program seems to now truly understand what it takes to bring everyone with him the way he needs to.