Derrick Coleman talk on Bill Simmons podcast

[STEVEHOLT]

Earlier this week on Bill Simmons podcast he had Charles Barkley on as a guest. Towards the end of the pod, they started talking about DC and basically how if he ever "got it" he would have been one of the greatest players the world had ever seen. In fact Barkley said that he was scared of DC's ability.

 

[bballbeadle]

Earlier this week on Bill Simmons podcast he had Charles Barkley on as a guest. Towards the end of the pod, they started talking about DC and basically how if he ever "got it" he would have been one of the greatest players the world had ever seen. In fact Barkley said that he was scared of DC's ability.

It doesn't seem he's been coming to the games any more. I believe he struggles with congestive heart failure. I am wondering if anyone knows more?

I think he had a wild man inside him which was always screaming to be let out. Taming the beast would have been draining and it may have affected his game. Anyway, Barkley gave DC a great compliment. Someone on this board said that DC was the greatest player he ever saw, and Carmelo second.

 

[Ghost]

It doesn't seem he's been coming to the games any more. I believe he struggles with congestive heart failure. I am wondering if anyone knows more?

I think he had a wild man inside him which was always screaming to be let out. Taming the beast would have been draining and it may have affected his game. Anyway, Barkley gave DC a great compliment. Someone on this board said that DC was the greatest player he ever saw, and Carmelo second.

Yeah, DC was fantastic. He really could have been an all-time NBA great. Just never clicked because of injuries, etc...He kind of had a skill-set that resembles what we would expect from a euro-style big man, but with attitude and strength. A stronger Garnett maybe at least. Dangerous combo.

 

[721Comstock]

Yeah, DC was fantastic. He really could have been an all-time NBA great. Just never clicked because of injuries, etc...He kind of had a skill-set that resembles what we would expect from a euro-style big man, but with attitude and strength. A stronger Garnett maybe at least. Dangerous combo.

A stronger, bulkier Garnett, with a much better handle and outside shot.
DC had all the physical tools.

 

[joct]

Earlier this week on Bill Simmons podcast he had Charles Barkley on as a guest. Towards the end of the pod, they started talking about DC and basically how if he ever "got it" he would have been one of the greatest players the world had ever seen. In fact Barkley said that he was scared of DC's ability.

I remember when they were playing, Barkley said the same thing, and Karl Malone said something similar. But rather than be inspired by it, DC took offense to it and lashed back, especially at Malone.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

The best JB player hands down.

 

[AlaskaSU]

like davis, he started out as a point guard.

 

[pulaski74]

It doesn't seem he's been coming to the games any more. I believe he struggles with congestive heart failure. I am wondering if anyone knows more?

I think he had a wild man inside him which was always screaming to be let out. Taming the beast would have been draining and it may have affected his game. Anyway, Barkley gave DC a great compliment. Someone on this board said that DC was the greatest player he ever saw, and Carmelo second.

It doesn't seem he's been coming to the games any more. I believe he struggles with congestive heart failure. I am wondering if anyone knows more?

I think he had a wild man inside him which was always screaming to be let out. Taming the beast would have been draining and it may have affected his game. Anyway, Barkley gave DC a great compliment. Someone on this board said that DC was the greatest player he ever saw, and Carmelo second.

Derrick was and is awesome, some of my fondest memories are him and mourning battleing inside, alonzo was more heralded but dc usually won, best rebounder in cbb history and I wish we could have more like him

 

[OrangeDW]

Earlier this week on Bill Simmons podcast he had Charles Barkley on as a guest. Towards the end of the pod, they started talking about DC and basically how if he ever "got it" he would have been one of the greatest players the world had ever seen. In fact Barkley said that he was scared of DC's ability.

In terms of on court play, I think Coleman always "got it". Even as an old, injured NBA player with little athleticism left he was still pretty good.

He just started getting hurt a lot and get heavy. Whether that was his own fault for not putting the work in in terms of strength and conditioning(the same could be said for Barkley to an extent), or just bad luck/genes in that area, who knows.

Always felt the narrative on DC was too negative. He's not the only guy from that era who was really good early in his career but was never the same after the injuries started piling up. Larry Johnson, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill. The narrative on those guys is wildly different though...because Grant Hill was nice to the media and because a very diminished Larry Johnson played in New York and made a lucky shot in the playoffs and threw up a stupid arm symbol afterwards.

 

[81South]

I def rate DC as the greatest to wear Orange. He had talent, fire, and really understood the game. He was a big who could do it all. And he threw a nasty haymaker.

 

[Cheriehoop]

DC was such an unselfish player here. He could have averaged 10 more points than he did in his career. Over his career at SU he had about 200 more rebounds than field goal attempts while also averaging over 2 assists a game. Excellent passer for a big man. Averaged over 11 rebounds per game his last 3 years and over 12 his senior year. Perfect combination of athleticism, skill , desire and strength.

 

[SUFan44]

He is the most understood and underappreciated Syracuse player to have ever played, IMO.

He was the only #1 overall draft pick that ever played at Syracuse. And unless we start doing things differently, that's not going to change.

In the pros, he was the freaking Rookie of the Year - and only MCW has ever matched that.

If not for the heart things that he had to deal with, IMO he would have gone down as the greatest power forward to have ever played the game. Including Tim Duncan, that's how talented he was.

People always think it was a lack of desire with DC. The Nets were a god-awful franchise when he got there. He went to Philly and that's a nexus of the universe for a lot of athletes. The right situation is always best for any number of players, and Coleman, like Melo, never got the right situation in my opinion.

Or maybe it's just a Syracuse thing. We make excuses for McNabb never having receivers when he was in Philly, Melo never having a supporting cast, etc. It's tough to really decipher. But Coleman was as good as anyone who has ever put on Orange in any sport. It's just disappointing that he had the issues that he did in the pros.

Thinking about it further, Marvin Harrison might be the only guy who lived up to the potential that he had in the pros. McNabb came close. Few of the basketball guys ever have. Coleman might have been the closest, even though he never met the astronomical expectations put on him.

 

[Bayside44]

I love DC, but in his senior moment of truth he fires a basketball at a Minnesota player.

That era of ballplayer, so many never panned out, went broke, got fat, etc...really strange considering the class of guys before them (MJ, Mullin, Ewing, The Dream, etc) so had their act together.

I'll defend Larry Johnson here (he got dinged up top) - he's one of the few of that time that reinvented his game due to injuries and maintained productivity in that time.

 

[RaoulDuke]

Earlier this week on Bill Simmons podcast he had Charles Barkley on as a guest. Towards the end of the pod, they started talking about DC and basically how if he ever "got it" he would have been one of the greatest players the world had ever seen. In fact Barkley said that he was scared of DC's ability.

DC was unstoppable. DC, Pearl, Melo ... greatest Orange of my watching generation ... I was too young to see Bing

 

[OrangeDW]

I love DC, but in his senior moment of truth he fires a basketball at a Minnesota player.

That era of ballplayer, so many never panned out, went broke, got fat, etc...really strange considering the class of guys before them (MJ, Mullin, Ewing, The Dream, etc) so had their act together.

I'll defend Larry Johnson here (he got dinged up top) - he's one of the few of that time that reinvented his game due to injuries and maintained productivity in that time.

Yeah, LJ was still a decent player even after his back injuries robbed him of all his explosiveness(he was just a monster his first couple years)...but he wasn't a better player than Coleman was in Charlotte or Philly late in his career. He had the 4 point play on the NY stage though.

 

[OrangeDW]

He is the most understood and underappreciated Syracuse player to have ever played, IMO.

He was the only #1 overall draft pick that ever played at Syracuse. And unless we start doing things differently, that's not going to change.

In the pros, he was the freaking Rookie of the Year - and only MCW has ever matched that.

If not for the heart things that he had to deal with, IMO he would have gone down as the greatest power forward to have ever played the game. Including Tim Duncan, that's how talented he was.

People always think it was a lack of desire with DC. The Nets were a god-awful franchise when he got there. He went to Philly and that's a nexus of the universe for a lot of athletes. The right situation is always best for any number of players, and Coleman, like Melo, never got the right situation in my opinion.

Or maybe it's just a Syracuse thing. We make excuses for McNabb never having receivers when he was in Philly, Melo never having a supporting cast, etc. It's tough to really decipher. But Coleman was as good as anyone who has ever put on Orange in any sport. It's just disappointing that he had the issues that he did in the pros.

Thinking about it further, Marvin Harrison might be the only guy who lived up to the potential that he had in the pros. McNabb came close. Few of the basketball guys ever have. Coleman might have been the closest, even though he never met the astronomical expectations put on him.

Melo has lived up to pro expectations too...25 PPG over a 13 year career to this point, 6 All NBA team selections, led the NBA in scoring, turned an awful Denver franchise into a team that made the playoffs every year while he was there, and made the Knicks relevant for the first time in close to 15 years.

 

[Bayside44]

Yeah, LJ was still a decent player even after his back injuries robbed him of all his explosiveness(he was just a monster his first couple years)...but he wasn't a better player than Coleman was in Charlotte or Philly late in his career. He had the 4 point play on the NY stage though.

LJ made the best of what he had was my bigger point.

 

[44PRIDE]

It doesn't seem he's been coming to the games any more. I believe he struggles with congestive heart failure. I am wondering if anyone knows more?

Is DC's health in this bad shape? Does anyone have anything else on this?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah, DC was fantastic. He really could have been an all-time NBA great. Just never clicked because of injuries, etc...He kind of had a skill-set that resembles what we would expect from a euro-style big man, but with attitude and strength. A stronger Garnett maybe at least. Dangerous combo.

People forget, but when he and Kenny Anderson were both with the Nets, and Chuck Daley was the coach, that team was really good for fa few years. DC averaged 20 and 10 for his first five years in the NBA, and then he had a bad first year when he was traded to Philly, but then put together another 3 or 4 pretty good years. DC was on the Dream Team II

His NBA career was not the complete car wreck people make it out to be. If you want to talk about who was a bigger disappointment in the NBA compared to their natural talent, just look at Billy Owens. He would be happy to have had the career that Derrick did.

 

[OrangeDW]

Is DC's health in this bad shape? Does anyone have anything else on this?

Hadn't heard that. Last I heard of him in the news, it was about him getting his degree from SU last spring.

He is active on twitter, and there's pictures of him on there at an event honoring Spencer Haywood just a few days ago.

https://twitter.com/44TheLegend?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

 

[OrangeDW]

People forget, but when he and Kenny Anderson were both with the Nets, and Chuck Daley was the coach, that team was really good for four or five years. DC averaged 20 and 10 for his first five years in the NBA, and then he had a bad first year when he was traded to Philly, but then put together another 3 or 4 pretty good years. DC was on the Dream Team II His NBA career was not the complete car wreck people make it out to be.

15 year career with averages of 16.5 pts. and 9.3 reb. is very solid. He had some monster playoff series's for NJ too, and one in Charlotte. Unfortunately they were all in losses to better teams.

 

[OrangeDW]

People forget, but when he and Kenny Anderson were both with the Nets, and Chuck Daley was the coach, that team was really good for four or five years. DC averaged 20 and 10 for his first five years in the NBA, and then he had a bad first year when he was traded to Philly, but then put together another 3 or 4 pretty good years. DC was on the Dream Team II

His NBA career was not the complete car wreck people make it out to be. If you want to talk about who was a bigger disappointment in the NBA compared to their natural talent, just look at Billy Owens. He would be happy to have had the career that Derrick did.

Owens certainly had the more disappointing pro career as he was never a top player like Coleman was, though he had some nice 15 pts. 7-8 reb., 3-4 assist type seasons in Golden State before injuries took their toll on him too.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Thinking about it further, Marvin Harrison might be the only guy who lived up to the potential that he had in the pros. McNabb came close. Few of the basketball guys ever have. Coleman might have been the closest, even though he never met the astronomical expectations put on him.

Well, you're limiting it to beginning the 80s. If you dig a little deeper, Rony Seikaly had a very solid NBA career. So did Sherman Douglas, although he never quite became a top star he lasted for quite a while. So did Etan Thomas and Jason Hart, and of course Danny Schayes played 18 years in the league.

Going back to football, don't forget about guys like Kevin Mitchell, Gary Anderson, Keith Bulluck (1o years), Donovan Darius, John Flannery, Tebucky Jones, Joe Morris, Stan Walters, Craig Wolfley, Terry Wooden, Olindo Mare (played around 10 years, too), and of course the legends like Csonka and Floyd Little, who both had tremendous, Hall of Fame quality careers. Daryl Johnston is another who had a very good career.

Our record of putting guys in the NFL is really outstanding when you look at it. It's just that we haven't had enough of those elite guys most years, to compete with the teams at the very top.

 

[two3zone]

deadspin.com/5895741/bill-raftery-thinks-derrick-coleman-is-fat

No church league for that guy.

 

[rrlbees]

Is DC's health in this bad shape? Does anyone have anything else on this?

It's been many years, at least 5 or more since I've seen anything about his health. I know he had an irregular heart beat near the end of his career then after he retired I think he had to have a defibrillator put in. There was even talk that at some point he may need a heart transplant. But if that had happened I'm sure we would hVe heard/read something about it. So I can only assume the meds and defibrillator are doing the job.