Vernell Eufaye "Bimbo" Coles (born April 22, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player. He received his nickname from a cousin in reference to a country music song of the same name. Coles was a standout at

Greenbrier East High School Greenbrier East High School is a consolidated school in Fairlea, West Virginia, that serves grades 9 through 12. It is a part of Greenbrier County Schools. Greenbrier East High School is located on Spartan Lane, just off US 219 near Lewisburg, ...

in Lewisburg, West Virginia. At Greenbrier East, Coles played basketball, baseball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Coles was more heavily recruited to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

than basketball before announcing his intent to play basketball in college. In football, he was twice named all-state and once named All-America. As a shortstop and outfielder, Coles claimed to be selected by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. He was recruited to play college basketball at Virginia Tech, Maryland and West Virginia. He played his college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies for four seasons from 1986 to 1990. Coles set the school and

Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did n ...

records for career points and the school record for career assists. He was inducted into the

Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1982 to honor and preserve the memory of athletes, coaches, administrators and staff members who have made outstanding contributions to athletics at Virginia Tech. A total of 211 individuals ...

and West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He was a member of the United States national basketball team which won a bronze medal in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. Despite not having played baseball since high school, Coles was drafted by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in the final round of the

1990 Major League Baseball draft The 1990 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

. His

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

career started when he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 1990 NBA Draft, and immediately traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for veteran guard

Rory Sparrow Rory Darnell Sparrow (born June 12, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Suffolk, Virginia, Sparrow played at Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, a ...

. After Coles' first of two stints with the Miami Heat, he was traded to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, and also played with the Atlanta Hawks,

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. He was utilized primarily as a backup

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

. Coles' brother, Sidney, played basketball for two years at Memphis and for two years at Marshall, one of which was under head coach

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He has served as head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since September 2020 after previously coa ...

. In 2000, Sidney was hired as an assistant coach at Wyoming under head coach

Steve McClain Steven James McClain (born August 15, 1962) is an assistant basketball coach at Texas. He was most recently head coach at the University of Illinois Chicago. Prior to UIC, he had spent five seasons on the staff of Tom Crean at Indiana Hoosiers men' ...

. Until 2021, Coles coached at his alma mater of

in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

References

External links

NBA stats
@ www.basketball-reference.com

@ www.nba.com

@ www.sports-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Coles, Bimbo 1968 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Virginia Boston Celtics players Cleveland Cavaliers players Golden State Warriors players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Miami Heat assistant coaches Miami Heat players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in basketball People from Lewisburg, West Virginia People from Covington, Virginia Point guards Sacramento Kings draft picks United States men's national basketball team players Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball players