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Bimbo Coles facts for kids

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Bimbo Coles
Bimbo Coles (cropped).jpg
Coles at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in 1995
Personal information
Born (1968-04-22) April 22, 1968 (age 55)
Covington, Virginia, U.S.
High school Greenbrier East
(Lewisburg, West Virginia)
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College Virginia Tech (1986–1990)
NBA Draft 1990 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career 1990–2004
Career history
1990–1996 Miami Heat
1996–1999 Golden State Warriors
1999–2000 Atlanta Hawks
2000–2003 Cleveland Cavaliers
2003 Boston Celtics
2003–2004 Miami Heat
Career highlights and awards
  • Metro Conference Co-Player of the Year (1988)
  • 3× First-team All-Metro Conference (1988–1990)
  • No. 12 retired by Virginia Tech Hokies
Career NBA statistics
Points 6,628 (7.8 ppg)
Assists 3,313 (3.9 apg)
Steals 735 (0.9 spg)
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze 1988 Seoul United States

Vernell Eufaye "Bimbo" Coles (born April 22, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player. He received his nickname from a cousin in reference to a country music song of the same name.

Coles was a standout at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia. At Greenbrier East, Coles played basketball, baseball and football. Coles was more heavily recruited to play college football than basketball before announcing his intent to play basketball in college. In football, he was twice named all-state and once named All-America. As a shortstop and outfielder, Coles claimed to be selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. He was recruited to play college basketball at Virginia Tech, Maryland and West Virginia.

He played his college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies for four seasons from 1986 to 1990. Coles set the school and Metro Conference records for career points and the school record for career assists. He was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He was a member of the United States national basketball team which won a bronze medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics. Despite not having played baseball since high school, Coles was drafted by the California Angels in the final round of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft.

His NBA career started when he was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the 1990 NBA draft, and immediately traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for veteran guard Rory Sparrow. After Coles' first of two stints with the Miami Heat, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors, and also played with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. He was utilized primarily as a backup point guard.

Coles' brother, Sidney, played basketball for two years at Memphis and for two years at Marshall, one of which was under head coach Billy Donovan. In 2000, Sidney was hired as an assistant coach at Wyoming under head coach Steve McClain. Until 2021, Coles coached at his alma mater of Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bimbo Coles para niños

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