Wolf Pack's Coleman making up for lost time

Before the season began, Wolf Pack point guard Marqueze Coleman said he wished he could have played all four of his college seasons under Eric Musselman. But the reality is the senior only gets one year with the coach.

As a result, Coleman is trying to fit four seasons worth of productivity and memories into one year.

He’s off to a great start so far.

After three years of struggling, Coleman has been the biggest bright spot in Nevada’s first three games this season. Despite heavy foul trouble in each game, Coleman is averaging 22.7 points per game (he has 68 points in 68 minutes) and leads the nation in free throw attempts. Coleman has gotten to the charity stripe 40 times in three games (he had just 41 free throw attempts in his first 10 games last year).

“We want him to attack, attack, attack and he’s done a great job of that,” Musselman said.

The only downside has been the foul trouble. Coleman’s aggressiveness sometimes goes a little too far.

Before the Hawaii game, Musselman told Coleman to avoid foul trouble since the team’s two backup point guards were both out with injuries. The result? Coleman picked up two fouls in four minutes.

Coleman sat the rest of the first half, but he made up for it in the second half. Coleman scored 32 second-half points, digging Nevada out of a 16-point hole before the team lost on a driving shot with 1.4 seconds remaining (Coleman’s layup with 5.7 seconds remaining put Nevada ahead). Coleman’s 34 points were the fifth most by a Nevada player since 2000. It was one of the best individual performances in Wolf Pack history.

“I was in the zone,” Coleman said. “I got chewed out at halftime for being in foul trouble. That’s one of the things we talked about before the game since Lindsey (Drew) and Juwan (Anderson) were out. I felt like I let my team down and I really wanted to come out, be aggressive and leave a mark on the game.”

A top-100 recruit out of high school, Coleman admits he didn’t live up to expectations his first three years at Nevada when he averaged 6.6 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting. But after a summer of hard work – Nevada tracked which players spent the most time in the gym in the offseason and Coleman topped that list – the 22-year-old came into his senior season more confident than ever.

“Coach really put it in my ear and all of our ears that you have to live in the gym,” Coleman said. “If you want to play at the next level, if you want to make money in this game, you have to live in the gym. I really took that to heart. I really put in the work this offseason and I feel like it’s really paid off. I really, really worked hard in the offseason and I’m just out there having fun now.”

Perhaps more than any player on the roster, Coleman has his team’s respect. In a survey before the season began, Coleman’s teammates voted him the team’s best player, most competitive player and smartest player. Musselman said Coleman has a presence, command and toughness about him on the court that leads to him being a leader. Running the point guard position also helps.

Shortly after Musselman was hired, Coleman was one of the first guys to buy in. Being a senior and Nevada’s most tenured player, it was important to Musselman to see such dedication from Coleman.

“He’s done a great job,” Musselman said. “Since the day we got here, he’s had high buy-in. We were worried about the group of seniors and how they would respond to a new system and a new staff and he’s been great. He’s been vocal in every practice. He’s been engaged every day. This style fits him really well. He has a lot of freedom and he’s taken advantage of the freedom to help him and help us.”

Musselman’s up-tempo system has played right into the strengths of Coleman and his teammates, an athletic group that struggled to score in Nevada’s slow-down pace last year. Coleman’s shooting 54.8 percent from the floor this season (his previous high was 39.6 percent) and is averaging 13.3 free throws per game (his previous high was 3.8). Coleman said he feels much more comfortable in the fast pace.

The game against Hawaii was Nevada’s fastest paced in the last five seasons, according to the Wolf Pack, and Musselman has not only told his guys to run, he’s demanded it. He also hasn’t tried to fit Coleman into any specific template. Musselman has built his system to fit the skills of his players.

“What we like from our point guard is whatever his strength is,” Musselman said. “We don’t want to put a description on the position. We want to put a description on what fits the player. Marqueze’s strength is getting to the basket, so we want him to do that and be a really good solid defender. We want him to play with freedom and we want him to play in transition and that’s what he does best.”

All Coleman wants from this season is victories. He’s the only player at Nevada who’s been on the roster each of the previous three years (all losing seasons), so more than stats, wins are what he cares about.

“I haven’t had the career I wanted to have here, but there’s always time to turn it around and you do that by winning,” Coleman said. “That’s the biggest point: winning basketball games.”

Wolf Pack notes: Combo guard Lindsey Drew, who missed Nevada’s last game with a sprained ankle, practiced Wednesday and Thursday and is expected to play against Pacific. … Point guard Juwan Anderson had an MRI on Thursday and is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a knee injury. … Musselman celebrated his 51st birthday Thursday.

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.

WOLF PACK BASKETBALL

Who: Nevada (2-1) at Pacific (0-2)

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Alex G. Spanos Center (capacity 6,500)

Radio/TV: 94.5 FM/None

Internet: None

Betting line: Line not posted

THE FILE ON MARQUEZE COLEMAN

Position: Point guard

Class: Senior

Height/weight: 6-4/190

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

High School: Bishop Alemany

2015-16 stats: Three games: 22.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 54.8 FG%, 50% 3PT, 82.5 FT%