Duke's Henry Coleman Making Steady Improvement
In two February games, Duke forward Henry Coleman has already seen more playing time than in any previous month of his freshman year. He’s also doubled his season totals for rebounds and points as he’s seen his minutes and production increase.
“Something Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) said is just kind of stay ready, and that’s what I’ve kind of done throughout this whole process,” Coleman said. “There’s a couple things I’ve kind of tuned into – a guy who can bring energy, I’m a guy who’s going to be able to defend one through five and a guy on the offensive end who’s going to be able to do a good amount of things. The last couple games, a lot of offensive rebounds, I’ve been there, so just cleaning up around the basket but also a guy who’s going to be able to stretch the floor too.”
Coleman hasn’t spent time thinking about his progress this season.
“I think personally, I haven’t really taken a step back to look at it,” he said. “I just think I’m going out there every day and doing what the coaches tell me and showing my game. I can see a little bit of progress here and there. You hit a shot here, make a layup there. But overall, I just haven’t taken a step back to look at it. I’m just kind of dialed in and ready to play some games.”
It’s taken Coleman time to adjust to his role with the Blue Devils.
“For most of my life, I’ve kind of had the ball in my hands 24/7, playing on a good amount of teams,” he said. “Here, I’m not going to have the ball in my hand 24/7 and neither is anyone on the team. Just being able to play with a lot of guys who are [capable] of scoring anytime [and are] top-level defenders. A lot of it for me was just learning how to play without the ball, just being able to make contributions here and there.”
