As summer rolls on and recruits in the 2023 class begin to narrow down their recruitments, one prospect in the class, Jermaine Coleman, is just getting started.
Coleman is a 6-foot-7 wing out of Indianapolis, Indiana, who plays for Park Tudor School as well as Indy Heat Gym Rats on the Nike EYBL circuit. While at this point, all of his offers are from low and mid-major programs, his recruitment has reached new heights as of late. After showcasing his efforts at the highest level with the Gym Rats this summer, he has seen his recruitment skyrocket to the high-major level, attracting suitors from all over the country.
“Wright State was my most recent offer,” he told Pittsburgh Sports Now in an interview Tuesday. “I’ve gotten a lot of high-major interest, they just haven’t offered yet. I’ve got Notre Dame, they’re pretty interested. Pretty much all of the Indiana schools, IU, Purdue. Pitt, South Carolina, Grand Canyon, and another recent one is Ohio State.”
Coleman is ranked as a three-star prospect on 247 Sports, and is coming off a stellar high-school season in which he averaged 19 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. While he is listed as a wing on most recruiting services, Coleman says, he can play anywhere his team needs him on the floor.
“If I were to describe it, I would say, yeah, I play the wing position, but personally I feel like I am position-less,” he said. “I feel like I can play any position. But if I were to pick one I would say I’m a wing. I feel like my best skill is my shooting, that’s my bread and butter. I do have a strong presence defensively, but something that’s really underrated that I do is, I have extreme athletic ability. My ability to create my own shot, and just get to the basket off any types of moves.”
Coleman recently caught the eye of Pitt associate head coach Tim O’Toole when competing for the Gym Rats just weeks ago, and the two have since stayed in contact.
“They first saw me the second session of the EYBL, and they hit my AAU coach just saying they were interested in what they saw,” he said. “It was Coach O’Toole. He’s the one who I have talked to. He has been telling me that he’s going to keep following me throughout the sessions and he’ll be down there at Peach Jam to evaluate me. He told me that they’re interested in my game.”
The rising senior was definitely familiar with the Pitt program due to one name: Nike Sibande. Sibande, who currently plays for Pitt, also played his high-school ball in the Indianapolis area, rising up for loud slams back in the day for Crispus Attucks High School.
“I don’t really know him personally, but I always knew about him when I was younger,” Coleman said about Sibande. “He was just this very athletic guard, he was known all around Indiana to have this crazy bounce. He’s a crazy-athletic dunker. I remember he was at Miami Ohio first, then he transferred to Pitt. Everybody in Indianapolis really knew that he had crazy bounce.”
Now heading into his final season of high-school hoops, Coleman himself is focused on showing college coaches, including Pitt’s O’Toole, what his game is all about.
“My specific goals that I am focusing on, that me and my parents have been talking about, are really just showing a high defensive presence, showing that I can guard any position, and that I am not just a shooter,” he continued. “Really showing these coaches that I am more than just a shooter, that I can do anything on the court. I am very versatile offensively and defensively. Just really showing what I have been working on. In previous years, I haven’t really been able to show my full bag, so these next couple of sessions in front of these coaches, my goal is to show everything I have to offer.”
