Presbyterian Blue Hose head men’s basketball coach Quinton Ferrell has announced the hiring of former Blue Hose standout forward Al’Lonzo Coleman as an assistant coach. Coleman joins the Blue Hose coaching staff after spending 11 years playing professional basketball.
“I’m really excited to announce the addition of Al’Lonzo Coleman to my staff as an assistant coach,” Ferrell said. “Al’Lonzo is an all-time great student-athlete at PC and arguably the best player in school history. He brings tremendous experiences with him to the program with his time as a student at PC, and the wealth of basketball knowledge he’s accumulated from his playing days as a standout player at both the collegiate and professional level.
Al’Lonzo will be a great asset to the program, our campus, and the community. I’m especially excited for our players! In Al’Lonzo they have an example of someone who had the PC experience and was able to make all of his dreams come true by getting a top-notch degree, becoming a professional basketball player, and building real relationships that will last forever all from making the decision to attend Presbyterian College.”
Coleman played pro basketball in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Iceland, Finland, Israel, France, Dominican Republic, Hungary, and Turkey. He averaged double-figure points in each of his 11 seasons of professional basketball. He averaged 20.7 points and 12.1 rebounds playing for Stjarnan in Iceland’s First Division in the 2015-16 season while earning All-League honors. On February 7, 2016, he scored a career-high 41 points against Thor Thorl playing for Stjarnan. Playing for Hapoel Ramat Gan in Israel, he averaged 19.0 points and 14.0 rebounds. Playing for Maccabi Rehovot in Israel, he grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds against Maccabi Haifa on January 9, 2018. During his career, he was a two-time Import Player of the Year in Israel in the 2017-18 and 2020-21 seasons. In 2016-17, he was a member of the All-Defensive team in Finland. He played on three teams that reached the Finals of their respective leagues including being part of a league championship team in Ecuador.
During his career at Presbyterian, Coleman became the first player in the program’s history to garner First Team All-Big South honors when he collected the accolade in 2012. He was a Second Team All-Big South selection in 2009. As a freshman, while helping the Blue Hose usher in the Division I era he was named NCAA Division I Independent Newcomer of the Year in 2008 after leading the Blue Hose in scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg). He also garnered a spot on the All-Independent Second Team and on the Division I Independent All-Newcomer team.
In his stellar career at Presbyterian from 2007-12, Coleman scored 1,499 points, which is the third most points scored by a Blue Hose player in the Division I era, while grabbing a program Division I record 786 rebounds. Coleman was the first player in school history to score 1,000 points in Division I basketball. He holds Presbyterian Division I era career records for free throws made (417), free throws attempted (632), defensive rebounds (532), and offensive rebounds (254). He also collected six of the eight highest single-game rebounds totals in the program’s Division I era including grabbing a program-best 18 boards at Winthrop on February 14, 2012.
A Charlotte, North Carolina native, Coleman graduated from Presbyterian with a degree in Business Management with a double minor in Physical Education and Coaching in 2012.
“I am extremely excited to come back to PC and to help develop these young men to be the best they possibly can be on and off the court,” Coleman said. “I am looking forward to doing something special with this program”
