Gerard Coleman to Transfer from Gonzaga

Jim Meehan from the Spokesman-Review made it official today through twitter; former Gonzaga guard Gerard Coleman will transfer to play his senior season elsewhere.

The lack of playing time is expected to be the biggest factor regarding Coleman’s transfer. At Providence College, where Coleman played two years before transferring and playing this past season at GU, the 6-foot-4 guard played 29.6 minutes per game his freshman season and 34.0 minutes per game his sophomore season. In his junior season at Gonzaga, Coleman only managed to see action on the court 11.4 minutes per game, a sharp decline in playing time from his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Along with playing time, Coleman did not quite fit into the Bulldogs system as well. The Boston, Mass. native is a long, lanky slasher who can get to the rim at will and is always looking to score. However, with that came a lot of turnovers and a lot of mental lapses, which seemingly drove Mark Few mad.

At the start of the season, it appear as if Coleman was going to be the team’s next go-to-scorer. In the Bulldogs opening two games against Bryant and Colorado State, Coleman played a total 39 minutes and scored a total of 31 points. Against CSU, Coleman showed how electric he was in transition, scoring seven straight points in the last one minute and 30 seconds to end the first half.

Assuming that Coleman received his degree, he is eligible to play right away for his new school. A school that has been rumored to be a possible suitor for Coleman: Northeastern.

With Coleman’s departure, the Zags officially have a scholarship open for the 2014-2015 season. A potential player to fill that would be former USC Trojan Byron Wesley, who visited GU’s campus this past weekend.