Coleman Shows Nets He’s Worth the Money : Basketball: Rookie forward erased doubts about his ability with a strong opening month.

In six months, Derrick Coleman’s basketball image--like his bank account--has grown richer. Gone are many of the doubts about his worthiness of being the No. 1 overall pick. So far, the only thing that has slowed his Rookie of the Year season has been a badly sprained ankle.

In November, Coleman averaged 10.7 rebounds, sixth-best in the league, and was the New Jersey Nets’ second-leading scorer with a 16.3 average. That earned him the season’s first rookie of the month award. But on Dec. 4, in the second quarter of a game against Seattle, Coleman sprained his ankle and missed the next three games. He has returned, but he has lost much of his momentum.

“He’s rusty now,” said Nets Coach Bill Fitch. “His conditioning is not as good and his timing’s off. But he’ll play a lot of minutes, and all of that will come back.”

And as Coleman’s ample skills again become evident, it will again point out that many NBA scouts miscalculated Coleman’s talent last spring.

A few days before the 1990 college draft, in fact, a general manager with a lottery pick lamented the quality of the college talent available.

“Derrick Coleman is probably the best player in the draft,” the GM said. “But is he going to be worth the amount of money you have to pay him? I wouldn’t mind having him for $1 million a year. But for $2 million a year, I wouldn’t want him.”

The Nets seemed to agree with that assessment. Even now, General Manager Willis Reed says if the Nets had not acquired Reggie Theus, an accomplished offensive player, in a trade two days before the draft, the Nets might have used the No. 1 pick to take Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott, who figured to be more of a scorer than Coleman.

As it was, the Nets worked feverishly until almost the last minute -- literally -- in an attempt to trade the No. 1 pick. They finally selected Coleman with 1:35 of their allotted draft time left, but they never seemed overly excited about what the Syracuse University star might do for their team. Most of the discussion of Coleman’s talents was about what he wasn’t.

Yes, he was a great rebounder, he was a good passer, he had good ballhandling and he was a better shooter than people thought. But he wasn’t David Robinson. He wasn’t Patrick Ewing. He wasn’t Akeem Olajuwon. Coming out of college, he wasn’t even Ralph Sampson.

Imagine the Nets’ surprise when they discovered that despite projections that Coleman would not be a franchise player, he wanted the franchise -- specifically, an average salary of not one, not two, but $3 million.

Imagine their joy when, after acquiescing to his salary demands, the Nets discovered he was well worth the price.

In the 16 full games Coleman played before spraining his ankle, he averaged 16.4 points and 10.2 rebounds. His 23 rebounds against Philadelphia’s massively built front line of Charles Barkley and Rick Mahorn is the high in the NBA this season.

“From day one, I proved that I belong,” Coleman said. “I always had confidence in my ability. I know what I can do on the court.”

Last year the Nets were 17-65. So far, including Friday night’s 111-103 victory over the Cavaliers, they are 10-14 -- more than half as many victories as they recorded all of last year. And in the 12 games Coleman started before he was injured, the Nets were 6-6. The contributions of Theus cannot be discounted, but Coleman is primarily responsible for bringing the Nets respectability. No longer is anyone suggesting there were no franchise players available in the 1990 draft.

“Everyone kept on saying there wasn’t a David Robinson or Patrick Ewing available in the draft,” said Nets center Sam Bowie. “I don’t know. People are going to start doubting that statement because this kid ...”

Bowie paused while searching for a superlative.

“He’s good. There’s no other way to put it. He does things you can’t teach. He’s been born with a lot of God-given ability. He’s a glass-eater, shoots a high percentage from the field. He’s just a great, great player ... He’s a unique individual. He changes the game. I just hope the commissioner doesn’t make him illegal.”

Or, as Bowie said in summary, “It looks like that $3 million a year is a bargain.”

Coleman either smiles or shrugs at suggestions that he was not a “franchise” player.

“People say that every year,” he said, “and one or two players always manage to shine. So I just put myself in that category. I was drafted No. 1 and I wanted to have impact. I think I have.”

Fitch concurs -- emphatically. Fitch often is reserved when evaluating players, particularly rookies. But Fitch does not hold back when Coleman is the subject. Fitch has had the fortune of coaching four great rookies -- Olajuwon and Sampson in Houston, Larry Bird in Boston and Austin Carr in Cleveland. He says Coleman is in the same class.

“So far, he’s had as big of an impact as Carr, Bird, Olajuwon and Sampson,” Fitch said. “Everything’s relative. He doesn’t have the same cast to play with. But if you took his stats and compared it to those other guys, I would say he’s held up well.”

Coleman’s greatest accomplishment, however, is the confidence he has instilled in his teammates.

“Derrick has a presence,” said Theus, a 13-year veteran. “There’s a difference between a guy that’s good, and a guy that’s good and has presence. That pretty much means his demeanor, his arrogance, his belief that he is a hell of a player, is obvious to his teammates and his opponents. When people do their scouting reports, they have to pay attention to Derrick. They know it. We know it. So when I have the ball, I know people can’t double-team me, and they know it, too, because nobody can stop Derrick one-on-one. That just makes our team a lot better.”