Memorable camp experience proved to be a turning point for Coleman

HOUSTON – The road to being a finalist for the USA 18U team is a long one, a tough one, but a fun one for the 16 finalists competing for the final 12 roster spots. Along the grassroots way, some players can recall specific moments in time that strike them like a type of minor earthquake that can barely be felt in the moment, but years later the positive aftershock of that experience is still being felt.

Anyone that’s been around 2017 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) point guard Matt Coleman knows he talks. Actually, the chatterbox floor general doesn’t just talk; he’s never quiet.

And that might be his best attribute as a point guard.

The 6-1, four-star prospect steps onto the hardwood with the mindset that he is going to compete, and he’s going to try to make the players on his team better. For Coleman, it’s viewed like it’s his job to elevate everyone else and worry about himself last.

“Yeah, it keeps everyone’s egos humble,” responded Coleman when asked if he takes the floor wanting to elevate the others around him. “Make sure everybody is getting their shots, finding guys, getting everybody involved and then you always play your game. But at the same time you have to make sure everybody is happy. Then you have the freedom to do what you do.”

As the final chapter of his AAU career is basically at its end, Coleman believes the nature of the constant competition helped him grow both as a person and player.

“I think I’ve grown a lot. I’ve matured. Being able to compete and battle and play in EYBL… every game matters. You’re playing with a chip on your shoulder,” the nation’s No. 37 prospect overall said. “Every day you’re going to play against someone in your position or class that’s high level, and you’re just trying to win and go at each other.”

At USA practices, 16 elite prospects go at each other all the time. After making the cut in Colorado Springs, Colorado during the trials, Coleman arrived in Houston with the same mindset.

“It’s the same one,” he said about his mentality. “All competing to make the team to fight for that gold. Same mindset. Just going hard.”

Coleman thinks his chances of making the final roster and competing in the upcoming FIBA 18U Championships in Chile are enhanced by his vocal nature and leadership skills.

“Be vocal,” Coleman said about what he does that makes his case to make the final cut. “Trae (Young) is a shooter. That’s his difference. Quade (Green) is smooth. But me, I think I get up-and-down. I’m vocal and I can hit the pull-up. We all bring something different. But I think making the team, you have to be vocal and a leader.”

Where does that come from?

Years ago, a young Coleman attended Chris Paul’s CP3 camp, a prestigious event for the nation’s best that are about to be high school freshmen. When Paul delivered the message that point guards become better by being vocal and communicating, Coleman took that to heart and never let go of it.

“I think just watching the next level college, NBA, seeing the pros communicate. When you go to camps and stuff, they always say one thing that stands out is people talking,” responded Coleman when asked where that vocal nature comes from. “Ever since my 8th grade year when I was at the CP3 Camp, that just made me look better than the rest and I kept with it.”

Looking back, that camp was a key moment in Coleman’s hoops life; it was that small earthquake that is still being positively felt today.

“Yeah. It was a turning point,” said Coleman about Paul’s message at the camp in the value and importance in being vocal and communicating. “I have to [communicate]. I have to be vocal. It makes everyone better.”

A lot of college programs feel like Coleman would make their teams better too in the future. Now that the calendar turned to July and the final live periods are just weeks away, programs are making their final pushes. And a lot are paying attention to Coleman.

“Texas, Arizona, Louisville, Stanford, Washington, Syracuse, North Carolina, Xavier, Ohio State, N.C. State, Providences, Seton Hall. It’s really kicked up these past two weeks,” responded Coleman when asked who is making him a priority right now.

Among that list, new schools Syracuse, Washington, North Carolina, and Xavier have joined the mix. Interestingly, three of those head coaches (Syracuse, Washington, and Xavier) were members of the USA 18U basketball trials coaching staff in June.

“Not yet, but supposed to be coming soon,” said Coleman when asked if those four have offered yet. “Those four right there have really gotten involved lately.”

Coleman doesn’t have any official visits locked in at the moment, but Texas and Arizona seem like likely choices.

“It’s not set at stone, but that’s where I look forward to going. But we’ll see,” he said about those two official visit destinations.

In June, Coleman told Orangebloods.com he’d look to put out a list of schools if he was able to make the final USA 18U roster because he’d be out of the country and able to think about it at length. In August, he plans to take some unofficial visits to programs in his area.

Coleman doesn't know where he'll continue his hoops career and education at yet, but one thing is for sure: the program that lands him is going to gain one of the most talkative players in the country, and a star NBA point guard is one of the main reasons why.