He’s the ultimate story of Wasted Potential; he was thought many to be on his way to a hall of fame NBA career after putting together one of the greatest college careers in 4 years with Syracuse. He came to the Nets with the expectation to be the franchise saviour and it seemed like that what was going to happen as he, Kenny Anderson and Drazen Petrovic had the Nets looking primed for greatness. But with the tragic passing of Petrovic, things began to unravel and questions around Derrick Coleman’s attitude and work ethic began to get louder. He would eventually be traded to the 76ers to play with Allen Iverson and Jerry Stackhouse, but Stackhouse was traded and Coleman continued to struggle with his weight and injuries. He would sign with the Charlotte Hornets before the lockout season in 1999, but this would be a forgettable 3 years as his struggles with alcohol and weight became more prominent, he missed a lot of games, and again fell out of favour with coaching and management. He made his way back to a situation he liked by returning to Philly in 2002 and although he was committed, alcohol had a serious strangle on his life and he was never able to stay in shape or play like the star he was in New Jersey. But at this point he was also in his mid 30s and after a few seasons in Philly he would end his career with a brief stint in Detroit in 2005. Derrick Coleman was a generational talent and should be firmly in the discussion of greatest forwards of all time, but poor attitude, injuries and alcohol derailed his hall of fame career. But, he was still always regarded as a great teammate and even with him playing as a shell of his former self once he left New Jersey he still put some great numbers and one can only wonder how much better they could have been if he was in shape and invested.

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