By Gary Lambrecht

Navy senior point guard Jennifer Coleman looks at her four years at the Naval Academy by sizing up the good days and the bad and what they all mean in the larger picture.

In the end, with graduation day three months away, Coleman is deeply glad she stuck it out at Navy, especially after the most challenging times made her seriously consider taking an early exit out of Annapolis.

"In general, we go through a lot of ups and downs, a lot of adversity at this school," says Coleman, recalling the days two years ago when she was close to walking away freely, instead of signing a "two-for-seven" commitment to earn her diploma, be commissioned a Naval officer and serve in the U.S. Navy for at least five years.

"Here, you learn to adapt, be resilient and overcome," Coleman adds. "You learn what leadership is about. You fail and fail again and you keep bringing it. When I think of the young lady who'd never been away from home for more than week and showed up in Rhode Island [in 2017 at the Naval Academy prep school], it seems like I'm a totally different person now."

Coleman, who was a four-year starter, three-year captain and two-time, Class 5A first-team all-state guard at Highland Springs High School in Richmond, Va., is re-writing the Navy single-season record books under second-year head coach Tim Taylor in 2021-22.

Throughout a year in which she has led or nearly led the Patriot League in a list of statistical categories — and continues to rank close to the top of Division I in scoring (eighth), defensive rebounds (third) and double-doubles (tied for 4th with 19) — Coleman has performed at a conference Player of the Year level.

By scoring a league-leading 22.4 points and grabbing 10.8 rebounds per game, second-best in the league, Coleman is averaging a double-double. She also leads the conference in minutes, field goals made, free throws made, steals and assists.

"[Coleman] is driven to be really, really good. I think of her infectious smile, competitive spirit and tremendous heart. She truly cares about her teammates, about others," says Taylor, whose staff helped Coleman iron out a low-release flaw in her shooting technique. The fix has fueled her offensive weaponry.

"She got better by putting in so much time in the offseason, while no one was watching," adds Taylor, who employs Coleman in a variety of ways. "We try to get her space and move her around. She's a true point guard who brings the ball up and finds open shooters. But we post her up, get her open off ball screens, run set plays to allow her to shoot threes. She tracks the ball [as a rebounder] extremely well and can guard anybody we ask her to at 5-9. She's just a baller."

In Wednesday's 56-42 loss at Loyola, which left the Midshipmen at 7-19 overall and 4-12 in league play, Coleman was her typical, versatile, playmaking self. She used midrange jumpers and explosive drives to score much of her game-high 22 points, marking the 20th time she has notched 20 or more this season. She added seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.

"I never want to lose. I'm clearly upset about every one of them," says Coleman, who will finish her college career with one of the finest individual seasons in program history. 

"But I also look at the fact that we've been right there (close to victory) so many times. That helps me keep faith that we still have a chance when we get to the (league) tournament," she adds. "I just keep encouraging my teammates. I think this [struggle] has really helped me to be a better leader. When things aren't going your way, you've still got to keep going."

Throughout her time in The Brigade, Coleman says she has been strengthened by the bond she has forged with her classmates, starting with the sisterhood ties with her teammates. She has been groomed by adversity.

Ciera Hertelendy, Navy's senior forward and captain, says Coleman's energy is impossible to miss. She is a loud presence, barking encouragement, demanding the ball, demanding more of herself and her teammates, cracking jokes, being a "character on the court." 

"We leaned on each other at NAPS, whether it was over academics or basketball or military life. We've become best friends over the years," Hertelendy says. "Everybody wonders at some point what have I gotten myself into here?"  

Coleman's battles have included suffering through 42 losses in her first two seasons, before Taylor replaced Stefanie Pemper. They have included the Covid-19 pandemic effectively ruining Navy's plans a year ago, as protocols and lockdowns ruled the Yard and the Mids were limited to a 12-game season.

With Coleman averaging a double-double in nine contests, Navy bounced back from an 0-5 start to win five of their last seven games. The Mids went 5-3 to finish fourth in the league and were feeling good about their chances in the conference tournament. But a positive Covid test brought Navy's year to a sudden end.

Coleman says her growth as a Midshipman is defined in large part by a pivotal decision she confronted late in a tortuous sophomore year — one year after she'd started all 29 games and led all Patriot League freshmen in scoring, rebounds and assists. 

First, Coleman suffered a concussion after a collision with a Mount St. Mary's player in a preseason scrimmage in October 2019. Two months later, she was declared academically ineligible. She would play in only 15 games as a result.

Coleman missed nearly half of Navy's season while regaining her academic standing. In addition to her regular 18-credit course load, Coleman, who will graduate with a degree in cyber operations, had to retake a cyber class. She was cleared to play in February 2020.

By then, Navy was headed for a 7-23 finish. Although Coleman was thrilled to be playing again and had not lost her desire to take advantage of a free education at an elite school and serve her country, she still agonized that spring over her basketball future. She says she is grateful for the support of her family, and the counsel she received from her parents, Elsie and James.

"That was a very, very hard year for me. It hurt to see [Jennifer] hurt," says Elsie Coleman, who says the family kicked around the idea of Jennifer transferring to a good civilian school with a strong basketball program. Coleman had committed to Navy early in her sophomore year at Highland Springs, before turning down offers from VCU, Norfolk State and George Mason.

"[Jennifer] easily could have gone somewhere else and had an easier road; gotten a fifth-year. Her numbers would have been insane," Elsie Coleman says. "But she picked herself up and got back on track [at Navy]. She persevered."

"It was not a decision I took lightly. My family reminded me what I wanted from this place," says Coleman, who says the hiring of Taylor locked in her decision to stay and finish what she'd started at the academy. "And hearing Coach Taylor, in our first one-on-one chat, tell me that he wanted to win now and 'I believe in you' was really all I needed to hear."

It didn't hurt that Taylor elected to keep assistant coach Jimmy Colloton aboard. Colloton had helped to recruit Coleman, after former Navy assistant and future Longwood head coach Rebecca Tillett had discovered Coleman as a ninth-grader at a basketball camp in College Park.

Colloton had witnessed what Coleman had to offer the program from the outset of her freshman year. He knew she was a gym rat growing up in Richmond, had played on boys teams at the recreation level, was an AAU veteran and was addicted to pickup games at the local YMCA back home — and still is when she visits her family. 

"Our backcourt had graduated in 2018, and we put the ball in [Coleman's] hands and said, 'Here you go, kid. You're going to be the one who scores for us.' That's a hard role to step into as a freshman," Colloton says.

"Of course, you could see her talent — the athletic ability, the ability to get to the basket, the passion, the vision, the knowledge of the game. It was all there from the jump," he adds. "Her rebounding at this level is something that surprised me."

Colloton also saluted Coleman for her recommitment to her conditioning — all-important at the academy, where sleep deprivation is part of the culture. Besides refining her workout regimen, Coleman took on a vegetarian diet last year, with good results. She also produced a 3.2 GPA last fall.

"The game always knows who has put in the work and who hasn't," Colloton says. "Im proud of what [Coleman] has done and what she's becoming."

Under normal circumstances, Coleman probably would have joined Navy's 1,000-point club at least a year ago. But it took her until the middle of her senior season, in only her 67th game — tied for fifth-fastest in school history Navy — to reach the milestone. It happened on January 8, in a loss to Lafayette.

Under expected circumstances, Coleman would have teamed up with classmate and proven scorer Kolbi Green this season in the backcourt. But five games into the season, Green departed the team to focus on pressing, non-basketball duties. It was a reminder that service academy athletes are not bound by athletic scholarships.

"Here, we're playing because we love the game. You know that, at any moment, you can leave [the team]," Coleman says. "Still, [the news] hit me like a Mack truck. Kolbi's my guy, but she had to so what was best for her. I support her." 

Franklin Harris has coached the varsity at Highland Springs for 15 years. He watched Coleman score 1,716 points over four years and lead her team to three state finals with a fiery, competitive streak and a dominant presence at point guard.

When Coleman told Harris she had committed to Navy as a sophomore, he wondered if the Naval Academy life would agree with Coleman. Then he watched from a distance, as Coleman pushed through another tough assignment with that familiar determination.

"Jennifer is strong-willed, with strong opinions," Harris says. "When she makes up her mind, she is not going to waver. She knows what she wants. She is going to go get it."

"Anybody that goes here has to figure out that balance. For me, it was balancing school, the military and basketball," Coleman says. "Plebe summer is such a pressure environment. People are breaking you down, just to build you back up. I could have taken a lot of lessons with me after just two years."

"At times, I would wonder why is this happening? Why am I going through this? I hate this. Looking back at everything that's happened, I feel at peace. I'm looking to the future. I'm in very good shape."