Bonell Colas remembers savoring the moment when Florida secured its first basketball NCAA Championship with a 73-57 win over UCLA two months ago.
Colas never earned an NCAA title in his four-year Florida career. His final season at Florida in 2003-04 ended in a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament. So he watched April 4 from across the country, taking satisfaction that former teammates and friends earned the ring he never did.
Playing in relative anonymity in Eugene, Colas gladly reminded his teammates on the Eugene Chargers that Florida won the national title. He proudly wears his Florida gear.
“They heard about it for a good month,” Colas said.
Colas, the 6-foot-9 pogo stick of a power forward and former Florida center, is the centerpiece of Eugene’s franchise.
Carl Berman, Chargers director and head scout, contacted Colas’ agent and found an elite player in professional basketball’s so-called dead period – when fewer professional leagues both in the United States and abroad are operating. Colas had been playing in a Venezuelan professional league, but when the team fell into disarray, torn apart by financial troubles and the owner’s death, Colas wanted out.
“It was one of the most horrible situations you could be in,” Colas said of the league featuring ex-NBA
player Carl Herrera and Oregon State star Corey Benjamin.
In Eugene, injury may be the closest thing to stopping Colas, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds two weeks ago in Oakland, Calif., when he went up for a dunk in the third quarter and was undercut. He went to a local hospital where he was checked out and released.
Coach Kenya Wilkins eased Colas back with fewer minutes in Eugene’s next game, a 165-130 win against Central Oregon on May 23.
According to the Chargers’ Web site, Colas is averaging 23.2 points per game through 11 games and 15.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists through 10 games.
More than statistics, Colas concerns himself with Eugene’s 8-4 record. He challenges himself to improve individual skills: ball handling, low post game and shooting. “There’s times where he gets a little rattled – he gets a little emotional,” Wilkins said. “He’s a fiery player. There’s also times when he’s unbelievable with his finishes and his hard work.”
His arrival on Eugene’s doorstep comes two years after he completed an up-and-down career at Florida, five hours from his hometown of Miami.
Colas remains close to his three sisters and seven brothers. His family, natives of Haiti, kept his parents Boniface and Sultane busy.
Colas grew as a prospect at North Miami High. Florida coaches, including assistant coach Anthony Grant, saw an athletic 16-year-old high school senior with unlimited potential. Colas drew
attention from Louisville, Clemson, LaSalle, St. Joseph and Mississippi State. Florida already had a strong core in Udonis Haslem, Brent Wright, Donnell Harvey and Matt Bonner.
Coaches wanted to redshirt Colas, but Harvey went pro and Wright broke his foot. In came Colas, ready or not. He played in 25 of 31 games, but never more than 17 minutes in a single game.
“Like any other guy coming in, your expectations are probably different from reality. He was definitely hit with that early,” said Grant, who left Florida this spring to become head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he replaced Jeff Capel. “The one thing he did, he really listened and took well to coaching in order to get on the floor.”
Colas earned his minutes as a role player and saw his playing time increase his final two years. He never reached star status, but had his moments as a senior. He made a game-winning layup to beat Arizona and scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds against Maryland.
Each year of his Florida career, he found himself behind a more talented power forward, most notably Haslem.
“I had to make a lot of sacrifices and I was OK with that,” Colas said. “It would have been easy for me to transfer, probably go somewhere, not get better and just slide.”
His thin build, which hampered him at Florida in the big, physical Southeastern Conference, works in the International Basketball League.
“He does a good job of not letting that stop him,” Wilkins said. “He seems to play above a lot of guys and around a lot of guys.”
[email protected]
Gator graduate adds size and depth to Chargers
Daily Emerald
June 4, 2006
0
More to Discover