Bullets’ Steve Colter Is Certainly Sure of One Thing--Himself

Contrary to what his teammates say, Washington Bullets guard Steve Colter does not have a full-sized white lion rug lying on the floor of his apartment in Columbia, Md. Nor are there gold platters of Grammy award winning songs on the walls and, no, visitors aren’t required to sit around with their host, in the words of Tyrone Bogues, “popping Nestle’s Crunch bars.”

Such locker room ribbing is the plight of the virtuous man, of which no better example can be found than Colter. But part of the player’s faith is a steeliness born of something most NBA players can relate to--career uncertainty. Since joining the Bullets in December, Colter has averaged 7.8 points and almost five assists.

As a starter the last 39 games, he has progressively become part of the team’s framework, but that’s not unusual. Washington is Colter’s fourth team in four seasons and in each of his previous stops he felt he was part of the foundation.

“Yeah, it’s happened a few times but each time it’s ended up a better situation than before,” Colter said recently. “I’ve met good people and I don’t lack for friends. . . . I’m not someone who lets bad things beat me. When that happens that’s when you give up and then you’re really no better than the things bringing you down. There are a lot of Christians in the NBA. How strong their faith is I don’t know, but mine has been strengthened by going through the bad times.”

The abrupt changes have seemed to make Colter nicer, almost too easy going and passive to play in the rough and tumble NBA. In a recent game against the Detroit Pistons, the Bullets were pressing in an attempt to make up a late deficit. At one point, an official dropped the ball on the court in front of Detroit guard Isiah Thomas and began the five-second count required to inbound the ball.

Thomas showed no inclination to pick up the ball so as the seconds ticked off, Colter picked it up and handed it to the opponent.

“That wasn’t being nice, though,” he argued. “We were trapping and Isiah was going to wait and then tell the ref that he hadn’t handed the ball to him. I’ve been trapping since I’ve played basketball and the thing you want to do is give it to him quickly and make him make a decision right away. Maybe he’ll throw a bad pass.”

Perhaps more important to the Bullets were the season-high 20 points with eight assists that Colter had in the game against the team that embarrassed Washington with a 3-0 sweep in the opening round of last season’s playoffs. Thomas was the catalyst of the debacle, making Washington’s Ennis Whatley his personal foil. Whatley had started the last 72 regular season games for Washington entering the playoffs last year, but had no postseason experience. Neither did his backup, Michael Adams.

“The party line might have been that we were in good shape there but there were definite concerns about the point guard spot at this time a year ago,” said Bullets assistant Bill Blair. “You don’t know what will happen in April but that’s changed to some degree. Steve’s very dependable. You know what he’ll do on offense and defense.”

Colter, 25, has been in 15 playoff games, nine of them in his rookie season with the Portland Trail Blazers, when he dazzled the basketball world with a series of outstanding performances in a losing effort against the eventual champion Lakers. Eager to show that his first year wasn’t a fluke, Colter nearly ran himself out of the league during the offseason.

“All summer I was running stairs and stadiums to get ready and developed tendinitis in my left knee,” he said. “I sat out three or four (preseason) games but then started playing hurt. By the time I finally got well, I was the third guard behind Darnell Valentine and Terry Porter.”

Colter still played in 81 games with Portland in 1985-86, averaging almost nine points a game. That promising performance interested the Chicago Bulls, who acquired him before the start of last season. There, Colter said he was assured he’d be able to run and shoot, but soon his game was reduced to “coming down and giving the ball to Michael (Jordan) and stand around on the sidelines like everyone else.”

Colter said that if he chose to dwell on the negatives of his career he’d be out of the league now, but he does admit that “it always seems like I get the worst end of the deal.” That held true at the start of this season. With the Philadelphia 76ers, Colter thought he had earned a niche as the backup to all-star Maurice Cheeks.

The team suffered a rash of injuries to big men like Tim McCormick, Roy Hinson and Christian Welp but when it was time to get a replacement, Philadelphia went after a guard, Gerald Henderson, and Colter was waived. “I had to get down on my knees after that and pray that God put me somewhere where I could do well,” Colter said.

That has been the case in Washington, although Colter was waived here once before being re-signed a few days later. Should the Bullets make the playoffs, perhaps another outstanding postseason effort would secure his place with this team.

Then again, there’s the specter of the expansion draft in June. Each existing team is allowed to protect eight players on its roster, with the other four open to selection by either the incoming Charlotte Hornets or Miami Heat. Sources in Miami say the Heat is hoping Washington leaves Colter unprotected so that it can snap him up.

“I guess that’s very possible but I’d rather not pay attention to it until it happens,” Colter said. “Wherever I am, I know I’ll be content.”