Texas G Matt Coleman declares for 2021 NBA Draft

Texas Longhorns guard Matt Coleman has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft, as the school announced that he’ll hire an agent and turn professional instead of returning for a fifth season and playing for new head coach Chris Beard.

The Forty Acres and beyond could have seen the news coming. Coleman joins Texas forward Kai Jones in taking their chances at the professional level.

During the 2020-2021 season, Coleman averaged 13.2 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and had a 48.5 percent rate shooting from the field. Among the highlights towards the end of Coleman’s senior season were his clutch, game-winning free throws against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. Not to mention the career-high 30 points against Tech, in which Coleman went 10-for-14 shooting and nearly perfect from the three-point line, going 4-of-5. Coleman also posted a career-high 30 points in the Big 12 Tournament championship game as the Longhorns earned the school’s first Big 12 conference tournament title.

As history now tells, Texas would go on to be upset by the Abilene Christian Wildcats in the first round of this season’s NCAA Tournament.

Coleman finished his career ranked third in school history in career games started (128), fourth in career assists (477), seventh in career assist-to-turnover ratio (1.73, 477-275) and 16th in career scoring (1,448 points).

Coleman’s potential at the next level remains unclear. He’s among the older prospects declaring for the NBA Draft this year. He’s also coming off a big season. As Hook ‘Em Headlines notes, Coleman “isn’t really a bona fide 2021 NBA Draft prospect like that of breakthrough sophomore power forward Kai Jones and/or the former elite five-star recruit and talented freshman power forward Greg Brown. But given what Coleman has showed us so far this season, there should at least be a shot for him in the NBA in his future.”