Spring Break
Coles ready to leave mark on new season
Adam Hurst
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Sports
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His voice is hoarse and raspy, symbolic of his age and countless hours of practice and games he's coached. A former two-time MAC Coach of the Year, Coles is entering his 20th season coaching collegially for division one basketball, his 14th at Miami. Compiling a .557 winning percentage from a total of 542 games coached in his career, Coles has coached NBA professionals such as Dan Majerle, Ira Newble and Wally Szczerbiak.
"I've coached (the) pros before they were pros," Coles said.
In his earlier years, Coles' aspirations as a coach were to have teams that were hard to play against as well as teams that enjoyed playing the game. Encouraging them to
graduate, making his players better people and providing them with challenges are cornerstones to his ability to connect with his players and develop trust with one another.
"I don't see this as a job," Coles said. "I see it as fun. I get to coach a fun game - it's almost like cheating!"
Coles' knack for picking out talent has always been a gem on his resume.
"I knew all along he had it," Coles said, referring to NBA great Dan Majerle, who he coached for three years while at Central Michigan. "I knew Dan's high school coach. Prior to his senior year in high school, Dan's coached called me and told me he had a pretty good player."
An assassin from long range in the NBA, ironically, the knock on Majerle's game in college was that he couldn't hit consistently from the outside. Scouts everywhere doubted him, including former NBA Coach Hubie Brown, who was a friend and mentor to Coles. Prior to Majerle's senior season at Central Michigan Brown told Coles that Majerle "maybe had a shot at playing in Europe." That summer prior to Majerle's senior season, Coles, as he has done with countless former players, challenged Majerle, having him work on his outside shot every day.
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