Editor鈥檚 note: This article is part of the Star鈥檚 2018-19 college basketball guide, which ran in Sunday鈥檚 paper.
Justin Coleman didn鈥檛 decide to become an 蜜柚直播 Wildcat until nearly May.
He spent the late spring finishing up a public administration degree at Samford and didn鈥檛 arrive in 蜜柚直播 until July.
By September, he was named the Wildcats鈥 co-captain.
That quick progression might tell you something about Coleman and fellow co-captain Chase Jeter, another guy who has never played in an 蜜柚直播 game. But it probably also says something about the Wildcats themselves.
With its five starters all gone from last season, 蜜柚直播 had no obvious go-to captains in the preseason. The Wildcats needed infusions of leadership and confidence, immediately.
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So even though UA coach Sean Miller has never publicly named season-long team captains before at 蜜柚直播, he did so this time. He said teammates and staffers alike voted for both Jeter and Coleman because they earned it.
It鈥檚 just that they didn鈥檛 earn it by playing at McKale Center.
蜜柚直播鈥檚 鈥渇orgotten man,鈥 forward Chase Jeter (4), sinks a hook shot during the Red-Blue Game. He redshirted last season after transferring from Duke.
They earned it from years of college experience at other schools: Coleman brings three seasons of college experience, two of them for high-major Alabama before he transferred to Samford in 2016, while Jeter had two years of experience at Duke before transferring to 蜜柚直播 in 2017.
While neither has played a game for the Wildcats yet, Jeter did spend last season learning Miller鈥檚 system as a redshirt.
鈥淪ometimes Chase Jeter is the forgotten man for us because he鈥檚 not a new player,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淩emember, Chase was a high school all-American. He was in the ACC, and went through some great practices, and now has some teammates playing in the NBA. ... He鈥檚 very mature. He鈥檚 going to graduate in December, and he brings a maturity we really need.鈥
While Jeter has been in 蜜柚直播 for over a year already, he鈥檒l rocket straight from wearing street clothes to games as a redshirt last season to being a major contributor this season.
Last season, 鈥淚 was still part of the team but I had a chance to step back and focus on myself,鈥 Jeter said. 鈥淕oing into this year, I know that I need to be a leader.鈥
A 2015 McDonald鈥檚 All-American out of Las Vegas, Jeter averaged 2.1 points over 48 games in his two seasons at Duke. He isn鈥檛 expected to bring dominant scoring to the post as much as predecessors Deandre Ayton and Dusan Ristic did, but Jeter is being counted on for just about everything else.
鈥淐hase is a very, very bright young man,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 maybe the best student we鈥檝e ever had. He鈥檚 also that way in terms of responsibility, which makes him a great leader.
鈥淐hase has a lot of gifts on defense. He鈥檚 smart. He can move. He knows where to be. A ball screen defense is a big part of the game now, and he鈥檚 as good of a guy moving in that area as we鈥檝e had.
鈥淥ffensively he will learn how to play off of others, and he might not be as adept of a scoring guy. I definitely think he can be a double-figure scorer, but what makes him good is his versatility, the things he can do on defense.鈥
While Jeter is on track to graduate in 3陆 years, Coleman graduated in four years, having spent two each at Alabama and Samford. He said he transferred to Samford, in the suburbs of his Birmingham hometown, because his 2-year-old brother was fighting cancer at the time.
Justin Coleman averaged 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds at Alabama, then became a second-team Southern Conference pick after transferring to Samford.
That gave him two different experiences on the court. Coleman started 16 of 67 games over two years at Alabama, averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 assists per game. He had a career-high 24 points against Oregon as a sophomore in 2014-15.
At Samford, Coleman led the Southern Conference with 6.3 assists per game. He also averaged 13.5 points last season while posting a 2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and hitting 80.6 percent of his free throws and 37.3 percent of his 3-pointers.
鈥淗e鈥檚 had big scoring nights in some of his games, especially when he was very young at Alabama,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a capable scorer. But he鈥檚 more of what I would call the true throwback point guard, somebody who thinks pass before shoot.鈥
At 蜜柚直播, Coleman will be the point guard whenever he is on the floor, Miller says, giving him a natural platform to be a leader.
He鈥檚 been doing so in practices at McKale and the Richard Jefferson Gym. Even though he hadn鈥檛 been around long, Coleman said it wasn鈥檛 awkward to step into a leadership role so quickly.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it was an issue,鈥 Coleman said. 鈥淭hese guys have been really fun to play with and we always communicate well on the court and off.鈥
Coleman said he had mentors as a freshman at Alabama that included guard Levi Randolph, who went to camp with the NBA鈥檚 Cavaliers this season, and that he was hoping to pay it forward at 蜜柚直播.
鈥淭hey led me the right way, they showed me some things that I was struggling with so I have to repay my dues to the younger guys,鈥 Coleman said. 鈥淲hen they say they are struggling, I try to talk to them, help them understand things they may not understand.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big jump from high school to college. You don鈥檛 understand what it is, so I just try to pass it down.鈥
Even if he鈥檚 passing it down to younger teammates he didn鈥檛 even know until a few months ago.
鈥淚鈥檓 just blessed to be in this situation,鈥 Coleman said. 鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 worked out for me. I took a leap of faith to leave a program like that and it鈥檚 been pretty good for me so far.鈥
