Feb. 19--North Chicago boys basketball coach Gerald Coleman is an influential and powerful presence within his community.
Known as "King Coleman," the larger-than-life coach repeatedly tried to convince his son that his vast basketball experience warranted more input on his granddaughter's impending high school career.
But his son, Anthony Coleman, stood strong and decided to follow his own wishes regarding his daughter's career: Tineesha Coleman would not play much varsity basketball as a freshman at North Chicago.
"We had a family meeting and we thought that (Tineesha) should go straight to the varsity," Gerald Coleman said. "By me being a coach, I have been there before. I've brought freshmen up to the varsity. Her dad didn't think mentality that she was ready for the varsity. He was the dad, but I had to throw out there that I was a coach. I just had to take off the coaching hat and put myself in her dad's shoes."
Anthony Coleman heard opposition to his decision from numerous people in the North Chicago community. Tineesha had dominated in seventh and eighth grade, leading Neal Math Science Academy in North Chicago to consecutive Lakeland Conference tournament championships.
Tineesha even endured some teasing from students and opponents regarding her father's decision.
"The buzz going around town was that she was the supposed to be the Cheryl Miller of North Chicago," Anthony Coleman said. "That type of attention is hard to handle. I wanted to make sure my daughter was a well-rounded person and be a leader on the floor. I also wanted her to get good grades.
"I got pressure from everywhere and everyone. We have a basketball family. It was a daily discussion."
Now a senior forward for No. 7 Marshall, Tineesha Coleman has come far since that decision three years ago.
She played a handful of varsity games as a freshman and received a full-time call-up for the playoffs. Behind Coleman's game-high 28 points and 17 rebounds, North Chicago upset Carmel in a Class 3A regional final for the school's first regional title since 1970.
"Everybody was on my dad about me not playing on varsity right away," Tineesha said. "Nobody quite understood his decision. I probably was scoring 30 or 40 points a game on the freshmen team, but it worked out the best for me."
Two years later, Coleman had to adjust to another tough choice by her father before her junior season: Anthony Coleman accepted a job in the city. Tineesha resisted the move by living with her grandparents early in her junior season until deciding to follow her father.
"I wasn't a big fan of moving to the city," Tineesha said. "North Chicago is a small town and everybody knows me. I was very nervous going to Chicago."
The 6-foot-1 Coleman, the leading scorer for Marshall this season, credits current junior forward Tekia Mack for helping her transition. Coleman said her off-court adjustment was tougher than playing for Hall of Fame coach Dorothy Gaters.
"It was a different environment, different music and even slang," Coleman said. "Tekia really helped me to be able to express myself without changing myself. She also helped me on the court playing for Coach Gaters. It's amazing to have a coach at a high school level that can coach you at a college level."
Besides Coleman's wide-ranging basketball skills, Gaters said she brought a professional attitude to the Commandos.
"Tineesha has multi-faceted talents, is a very good shooter and a very good offensive rebounder and a hard worker and just a great character kid," Gaters said, the winningest coach in Illinois high school history. "She has contributed very much to the success of this team, not only winning games but changing attitudes and being the type of player and athlete every coach would like to have."
A dangerous inside-outside player, Coleman possesses an outside shot that stretches to the 3-point line, and her strength allows her to dominate smaller opponents on the block. She scored a team-high 16 points to help Marshall end an 18-game series losing streak to Young on Dec. 15. She poured in 46 points in a Jan. 14 loss at Young.
Coleman, a two-year starter at Marshall, remains without a single scholarship offer but has drawn interest from St. John's and Temple. She's more focused on leading Marshall to its first state title since 2008.
"If you look at most of the decent players in girls basketball in my class, most of them are signed," Coleman said. "I'm like the only one hanging out there, and its kind of late in the game. It's kind of frustrating at times, but I'm very excited for the playoffs. All these games have led up to this moment."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
