Rocky and Rodney. From the sound of it, they?re either a Bonnie-and-Clyde duo or a pair of crime-fighting super-heroes.
Not quite.
Rocky Coleman and Rodney Spruill are two of Towson University?s prized young backcourt talents, plucked from Baltimore?s Walbrook High. Having won a state title together with the Warriors, they?ll always be linked together, especially now that they?ve been reunited at Towson (12-11).
“When I first got there, we would be on the same team [in practice],” recalled Spruill, a freshman guard, of his first few weeks on campus. “They would say we only pass the ball to each other.”
While their Towson teammates give them a hard time for their familiarity with one another, Spruill has the unfortunate duty of being the only freshman on the team. After earning notoriety for helping lead Walbrook to a 26-2 record and a state title as a junior in 2005, he spurned both George Mason and Nebraska to join the Tigers.
“Those two guys, in the big picture, are very important because they?ve come out of a storied program,” Towson coach Pat Kennedy said.
Coleman, a sophomore, was a senior on Walbrook?s state championship team. After starting him at guard for 18 games as a freshman, Kennedy now uses Coleman as a combo guard off the bench.
“It?s tough, in a way,” Coleman said of his playing time. “But I?m a team player, so I understand what?s best for the team.”
Coleman is averaging 15 minutes and four points per game heading into today?s conference clash with Drexel (16-6).
“He?s become a better shooter and ball-handler,” Kennedy said. “The thing that?s hurting me now is getting him more minutes. He has improved more than people have realized.”
As a high school junior, Spruill averaged 16.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, but also shot 42 percent from long-range. In his senior year, he averaged 22 points and 13 rebounds per game.
“I know the level and growth potential that he has,” Kennedy said. “Rodney has tremendous upside.”
He?s also tremendously dedicated. Kennedy remembers recruiting Spruill, who had shed 30 pounds before the start of his senior season, and seeing the high schooler refuse to eat anything but healthy meals. And he ordered no dessert.
“That whole summer, I had to just work hard,” Spruill said.
Hard work is nothing new to the Walbrook duo. That?s what drove them to the state title in 2005.
“Our coach, Coach [Kelvin] Bridgers kept pushing us,” Spruill said, adding that the Warriors? coach found flaws even in the team?s championship win.
As the lone scholarship freshman on the roster, Spruill has played in 22 of the team?s 23 games, averaging 12.4 minutes and 2.5 points per game. While he?s still finding his true comfort zone on the court, he?s perfectly comfortable at Towson and with Kennedy.
“You just have to look at how many people he coached that got into the NBA ? and to good jobs,” Spruill said. “Not everybody is going to make it. A degree and a good job would be fine with me.”
WALBROOK-TOWSON CONNECTION
» Devin Boyd, a 1988 Walbrook grad, is Towson?s all-time leading scorer with 2,000 points. He led Towson to NCAA tournament appearances in 1990 and ?91.
» Brandon Spruill, Rodney?s brother, played with Spruill and Coleman at Walbrook. Brandon is now a 6-foot-2 freshman guard at Harford Community College.
