Benjamin Coleman (November 14, 1961 – January 6, 2019) was an American professional basketball player. In college, he played for the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland. Professionally, he played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as in Italy and Spain.

Early life

Coleman was born on November 14, 1961, in Minneapolis. He played basketball at

North Community High School North Community High School, or simply Minneapolis North, is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The school has existed for over 120 years in several buildings all located on the city's n ...

. After graduation, he received a scholarship to play at the University of Minnesota. In 1979, he became the first player from Minneapolis North to receive a scholarship from a Division I college. He was also the first African-American player from a Minneapolis City Conference school to play for Minnesota. He spent much of his time at Minnesota coming off the bench. In his redshirt freshman year of 1980–1981, he averaged 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. After that season, he decided to transfer to the University of Maryland. Coleman commented that he was able to make a statement for his community by playing for his hometown Gophers, but also faced a lot of pressure playing there. Under transfer rules, he sat out the 1981–1982 season. At Maryland, Coleman teamed up with Len Bias, who went on to be the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft. He won two All-ACC honors and helped the team to the 1984

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

championship and to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 1984 NCAA tournament. After graduation, he was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round (37th overall) in the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

. He did not make the Bulls roster and decided to sign with

Stefanel Trieste Pallacanestro Trieste 2004 is an Italian professional basketball club based in Trieste. They play in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) since the 2018–19 season. The Allianz Dome serves as the club's home arena. History A number of Trieste teams h ...

in Italy's Serie A. The Bulls traded his rights to the Portland Trail Blazers for

Mike Smrek Michael Francis Smrek (born 31 August 1962) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round of the 1985 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, and played seven seasons in the league as a backup cent ...

, but he again failed to make the team and returned to Italy. After two years in Italy, he returned to the United States and signed with the New Jersey Nets. In the middle of his second season with the Nets, New Jersey traded him and Mike Gminski to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

for Roy Hinson and Tim McCormick. He played the remainder of the 1988–89 season in Philadelphia. Before the 1989–90 NBA season, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks but his season was cut short due to injury in February and he was waived. The following season he began a three-year stint in Spain, signing with Baloncesto León in Spain. He moved to FC Barcelona and CB Peñas Huesca. For the

1983–84 NBA season The 1983–84 NBA season was the 38th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 for the second time since 1969 in the NBA Final ...

, Coleman returned to the U.S. with the Rapid City Thrillers of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

. He signed a ten-day contract with the Detroit Pistons. After Detroit did not retain him, he played on a rest-of-season contract with Roma and the following season with

Montecatiniterme Basketball Montecatiniterme Basketball is an Italian basketball team that is based in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany. History Established in 1949, the first incarnation of the club, Montecatini Sporting Club, played in the first division Serie A from 1989 to 2001 ...

in Italy. He ended his playing career with the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Omaha Racers of the CBA. After he retired, Coleman coached in the greater Minneapolis area with the private coaching service, CoachUp.www.coachup.com/coaches/benc
/ref> Coleman died on January 6, 2019, at age 57.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" , New Jersey , 68 , , 7 , , 15.1 , , .581 , , .000 , , .727 , , 4.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" , New Jersey , 27 , , 10 , , 24.3 , , .483 , , .000 , , .774 , , 6.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 11.0 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" , Philadelphia , 43 , , 14 , , 19.6 , , .516 , , .000 , , .752 , , 4.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , Philadelphia , 58 , , 11 , , 12.1 , , .485 , , .000 , , .792 , , 3.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.3 , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Milwaukee , 22 , , 0 , , 13.9 , , .474 , , .000 , , .829 , , 4.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" , Detroit , 9 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .480 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.9 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 3.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 227 , , 42 , , 15.9 , , .516 , , .000 , , .759 , , 4.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 6.6

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" , Philadelphia , 3 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .750 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.7

References

External links

College & NBA statistics
@ basketballreference.com
Italian League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Ben 1961 births 2019 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Baloncesto León players Basketball players from Minneapolis CB Peñas Huesca players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Detroit Pistons players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Liga ACB players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball players Montecatiniterme Basketball players New Jersey Nets players North Community High School alumni Omaha Racers players Pallacanestro Trieste players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Rapid City Thrillers players Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players