Former NBA star, Derrick Coleman, is latest in a string of former hoop stars who have fallen on financial hard times recently, following Antoine Walker and Anthony Avent. “DC” as Coleman was known during his playing days has filed for bankruptcy over a reported $4.7 million dollar debt owed to a number of creditors, stemming from defaults on loans from failed real estate ventures. Now not only has Coleman been disappointing on the court, but now off of it as well.
Coleman was the poster boy for under-achieving super talented players who failed to live up to their potential. After a stellar 4 year career at Syracuse where he along with Billy Owens led the Orange to 4 consecutive deep NCAA Tournament runs in the late 80’s. After being selected as the #1 overall pick of the NJ Nets in the ’90 NBA Draft, Coleman at first impressed, by winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was selected as a member of the USA Dream Team II. He was so impressive that many experts compared him to NBA Hall of Famers Charles Barkley and Karl Malone.
But his career was overshadowed by a myriad of injuries and a questionable attitude and work ethic. Even though he was deemed an elite player for the first 5 years into his career, he only played in 70 or more games in 4 of his 15 seasons in the NBA. He had a number of off the court issues including alcohol abuse, minor arrests, and excessive weight gain. After being traded and resigned 4 different times and finally released by the Pistons in ’05, Coleman chose(or was forced) to retire and focus on a short stint as a NBATV analyst in ’07, then finally focused on revitalizing the poor downtown area of his hometown Detroit.
After making nearly $100 million during his playing days, Coleman reportedly only has about $1 million in assets, including two homes in Beverly Hills, California, a ’97 Bentley, ’70 Chevy Nova, more than 50 fur coats, and dozens of Rolex watches. Coleman has close ties to his boyhood home, Detroit, Michigan and has invested millions of dollars into making one of the poorest metropolitan areas in the country a better place to live. Partly because of the economy, Coleman’s real estate ventures went belly-up and now he owes up to as many as 90+ creditors, including former NBA player and current Detroit mayor, Dave Bing.
Here’s Coleman’s official statement through his lawyer:
“Mr. Coleman was focused on investing in various communities throughout the city of Detroit by developing real estate, creating jobs and revitalizing business opportunities.” “Due to the state of the economy, including the decline in the real estate market, Mr. Coleman’s investments could not be sustained.”
Coleman’s business investments included a venture called Coleman’s Corner erected in downtown Detroit, which was to help create jobs and revitalize business opportunities for the people of the area. some of his investments were also a bit ironic like a donut shop franchise and a pizza parlor, which are not exactly wise investments for someone who has had issues dealing with his weight.
To sum up Coleman’s career, an Sports Illustrated reporter once remarked that:
“Coleman had the skill-set to be the best power forward ever, instead he played just well enough to ensure his next paycheck.”
Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
