Maryland focusing on nation’s leading scorer
Friday night when Maryland plays Houston in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Terps’ defense will be focused on the nation’s leading scorer, Aubrey Coleman. The guard averages 25.6 points per game, three points more than any other player in Division I.
“To score 25 points a game nowadays, the way defenses are, it’s hard to do,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “If you average 25, that means you can get 30. That’s the problem with him. He’s capable of exploding at any time.”
Maryland will take steps to ensure that doesn’t happen Friday. Guard Sean Mosley, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, likely will be assigned to Coleman and will get help.
“We have to have more than one set of eyes on a guy that’s a really good scorer,” said Williams. “In case you do make a mistake defensively, he still has to beat somebody else before he scores.”
Coleman, a Houston native who played two JUCO seasons at Southwest Mississippi Community College, shoots 42 percent from the floor and 32 percent from beyond the arc.
The 6-foot-4 200-pound senior has an inside dimension, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game, tying for the team lead. He has shot more free throws (306) than any player in the nation, hitting 75 percent.
“He’s very strong. He’s more of a physical guard,” said Williams. “Those guys are going to get their points. What you try to do is make them take as difficult as shots as possible, so you can wear them down, play defense on each possession.”
That was the formula a No. 4 seeded Maryland team used three years ago in an 82-70 win over high-scoring Stephen Curry and Davidson. Curry finished with 30 points, but after hitting 7 of his first 11 shots and staking Davidson to an 8-point lead in the second half, the guard missed eight of his last 10 attempts.
Maryland guard Eric Hayes compares Coleman to Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, the ACC scoring leader and, like Coleman, a high-volume shooter. He also compares Houston’s four-guard rotation to Villanova’s.
“They really have no conscience when they come down the court,” said Hayes. “Anybody can pull up and shoot from wherever, whenever.”
The secondary threat for Houston (19-15) is 6-4 senior Kelvin Lewis, who occupies the wing opposite Coleman. Lewis (15.3 ppg) hits 40 percent from 3-point range. While Coleman (4 of 20) was misfiring in the Conference USA title game win over UTEP, Lewis (11 of 15) picked up the slack, hitting 6 of 10 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points.
After his star scored 13 points, his second lowest output this season, on March 13, Houston coach Tom Penders had a unique take.
“My daughter was born on May 13 and 13 is my lucky number,” said Penders. “My wife wrote it on my mirror this morning in shaving cream — March 13 — because there’s no way that I thought we had a shot if that happened.”
Maryland will be thrilled if it can limit Coleman to 13 points, lucky number or not.
