NBA.com: Bimbo Coles Bio

Vernell "Bimbo" Coles was a triple-threat athlete at Greenbrier East High School in Lewisburg, West Virginia, starring in football, baseball and, of course, basketball, which he pursued all the way to a career in the NBA. He split his first nine seasons between the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors, coming to the Atlanta Hawks on June 29, 1999 in the trade that sent Mookie Blaylock to the Warriors. He was the Hawks' starting point guard for most of the 1999-2000 season. At Virginia Tech, Coles devoted himself to the hardwood, and four years later he had become the top scorer in school and Metro Conference history (2,484 points), the first player to pace the Metro in scoring three straight times, and the first player to lead the conference in both scoring and assists in the same season. An honorable mention All-American as a senior and a 1988 bronze-medal winner on the U.S. Olympic team, Coles was chosen by the Sacramento Kings with the 40th overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft. He was promptly traded to the Miami Heat for veteran guard Rory Sparrow. As a rookie in 1990-91, Coles was the only Miami player to appear in all 82 regular-season games. He blossomed in his second NBA campaign, becoming a starter after Sherman Douglas was traded to the Boston Celtics and Steve Smith fell to an injury. In three playoff games that year (the Heat's first-ever postseason appearance), Coles shot .700 from the floor and .800 from the foul line. He enjoyed more playing time the following season, nudging his scoring and assists averages to 10.6 ppg and 4.6 apg. The first significant injury problems of his young pro career struck in 1993-94 when Coles missed six games because of a dislocated finger and a strained back. His numbers suffered as a result. Hamstring problems slowed Coles in 1994-95 to the tune of 14 missed games. He established a career high in assists, however, handing out 416 (6.1 apg) and eclipsing Douglas in the process to become the Heat's career leader in that department. Despite missing nearly a fifth of the season, Coles recorded a career-high 99 steals and the fourth-highest assists total in franchise history (416). In a Miami backcourt decimated by injuries all year, Coles started a career-high 65 games. Coles was well on his way to the finest season of his career in 1995-96 when he was traded on Feb. 2, 1996 to Golden State along with Kevin Willis for Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling. Coles appeared in a total of 81 games between the two teams and averaged a career-high 11.0 ppg and 5.2 apg. Injuries limited him to 51 games with Golden State in 1996-97 and his scoring and assists dropped to 6.1 points and 2.9 assists per game. He was hampered by injuries again the following season, although he lifted his averages to 8.0 points and 4.7 assists in 53 games. Coles started the final 32 games of the shortened, 50-game season in 1998-99 and averaged 9.5 points and 4.6 assists per game, ranking second on the team in assists and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.71-to-1). Just prior to the 1999 NBA Draft, he was traded with Duane Ferrell and the 10th overall pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Mookie Blaylock and the 21st overall selection. He played in 80 games for the Hawks in 1999-2000 and started 54 of them, averaging 8.1 points and 3.6 assists per game.

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON
Recorded 10 points and 10 assists in a 95-87 win in Seattle on 2/25 Posted 25 points and 7 assists in a 116-113 loss in Milwaukee on 1/4 Tallied 14 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds in a 106-105 OT loss in Detroit on 12/30 Registered 17 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds in a 107-103 loss to Orlando on 11/20 Totaled 20 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in a 102-97 loss in Vancouver on 11/10

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Recorded team-highs of 20 points (9-14, 2-2 FT) and 6 assists against the Utah Jazz on 4/8 Scored 16 of his game-high 24 points (9-14 FG, 6-7 FT) in the 4th quarter, adding 5 assists and 4 rebounds, in a 93-90 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on 3/30 Registered a team-high 20 points (9-16 FG), 4 rebounds and 3 assists against the San Antonio Spurs on 3/17 Posted a game-high 23 points, on 11-of-13 field-goal shooting, and 6 assists against the Sacramento Kings on 3/15 Scored 12 of his 14 points (6-9 FG, 2-2 3FG) in the 4th quarter, and added 3 assists, in a 102-83 win over the Indiana Pacers on 3/5 Scored his 5,000th career point against the Portland Trail Blazers on 2/20 Notched his 2,500th career assist, totaling 8 points and a game-high 7 assists, in an 84-79 win over the Dallas Mavericks on 2/19 Recorded 13 points (4-4 FG, 5-6 FT), a team-high 9 assists and 4 rebounds in a 96-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on 2/17

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
Placed on the injured list on 3/4 due to bone spurs in his right foot Scored 19 points and added 5 assists in an 82-78 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on 1/27 Registered 12 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals against the Chicago Bulls on 1/10 Recorded 16 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds against the Atlanta Hawks on 1/7 Posted 16 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals against the Seattle SuperSonics on 12/30 Totaled 15 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds against the Houston Rockets on 11/22 Registered 19 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds against the New Jersey Nets on 11/5 Recorded 12 points, a team-high 9 assists and 3 steals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 10/31

1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Coles averaged 6.1 points, 2.9 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game, playing in 51 games and making 13 starts. He missed a total of 31 games due to injury, sitting out the final 21 games of the season due to a hernia. He also spent time on the injured list due to a broken bone in his right wrist. Coles posted season highs of eight rebounds and seven assists in a 117-108 win at New Jersey on Feb. 28. He had a season-high 14 points twice, at Milwaukee on Jan. 12 and against Boston on Feb. 19. He scored in double figures 14 times, and the Warriors were 8-6 in those games. Coles' assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.5-to-1 tied Melvin Booker for the team lead.

1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Coles enjoyed the finest season of his pro career despite a mid-year trade to Golden State after 5 1/2 seasons at Miami, where he had become the all-time leader in assists with 1,946 in 440 games. Coles was Miami's starting point guard for the first 52 games of the season and was averaging career highs of 12.8 points and 3.9 rebounds and team-highs of 5.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game when he was traded on Feb. 22, 1996 along with Kevin Willis to the Golden State Warriors for Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling. Coles played a reserve role with the Warriors, coming off the bench in all but three of his 29 appearances, and averaged 7.9 points and 4.3 assists per game. His playing time was cut from 36.2 mpg with the Heat to 25.3 mpg with the Warriors, yet he still finished the season with a career-high 11.0 ppg as well as 5.2 apg. Coles posted a career-high 26 points twice, on consecutive nights, while with Miami. He did it at Detroit on Nov. 30 and again the following night against Charlotte. His top point performance with Golden State was 18 against Denver on April 4.

1994-1995 REGULAR SEASON
In his fifth season with the Miami Heat, Coles was named one of the team's captains early in the campaign. He responded by leading the club in assists and placing 19th in the NBA with 6.1 per game. Along the way he became the all-time assists leader in Miami franchise history, passing Sherman Douglas. Coles had a handful of sterling individual games during the 1994-95 campaign. On December 12 he scored 21 points and passed for a single-game career-high 15 assists against the New York Knicks. Nine days later he played 53 minutes in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks and scored 22 points. On January 27 he went 10-for-12 from the field on the way to a career-high-tying 25-point evening against Milwaukee. He matched that output on February 8 against the Washington Bullets. Injuries limited Coles to a career-low 68 games. He spent 11 games on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. For the season, he averaged 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and a team-leading 1.46 steals. The Heat finished at 32-50 and failed to make the playoffs.

1993-1994 REGULAR SEASON
As the Miami Heat's back-up point guard in 1993-94, Coles was often called upon to provide instant production off the bench. He did just that on February 25 when he recorded a career-high and franchise-record 7 steals against the 76ers at Philadelphia in a Heat victory. Coles also handed out 9 assists in a game twice, both resulting in Miami victories. For the season, Coles averaged 7.7 points and 3.5 assists, starting in 4 of his 76 appearances and helping the Heat to their first-ever winning season (42-40). In a first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, Coles was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points in five games; he was also the team's top distributor, handing out 3.4 assists per contest.

1992-1993 REGULAR SEASON
Coles sank a career-high 42 three-point baskets en route to averaging 10.6 points and 4.6 assists in 81 games. He scored a career-high 25 points against New Jersey on November 7 and dished for 14 assists against Indiana on November 25. Coles started at point guard through the first half of the season while Steve Smith was sidelined with a knee injury. His only absence from the Heat lineup, on January 15 at Phoenix, was the result of a strained left hip flexor and a strained groin.

1991-1992 REGULAR SEASON
Coles played in 81 games, improving on all of his rookie numbers with averages of 10.1 points and 4.5 assists in 24.4 minutes per game. He scored a then career-high 22 points against Detroit on February 2. An iron man as a rookie, Coles missed the first game of his career, at Seattle on January 2, because of a broken nose suffered in practice. During the Heat's first trip to the playoffs, Coles contributed 7.7 points and 2.0 assists per game as Miami was swept by Chicago in the first round.

1990-1991 REGULAR SEASON
Vernell "Bimbo" Coles is an all-around athlete. He was drafted as an outfielder by the California Angels in the 53rd round of the June 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. Before that, he had been drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school, where he had also starred as a defensive back in football. Virginia Tech was fortunate he opted to play basketball. Coles finished his collegiate career as the leading scorer in Virginia Tech and Metro Conference history, with 2,484 points. He was the first player to lead the Metro in scoring for three consecutive years, and he played for the bronze-medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1988. The Sacramento Kings selected Coles in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft, but the Kings promptly traded his rights to Miami on draft day for veteran Rory Sparrow. As a rookie, Coles was the only Heat player to see action in all 82 games. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.8 assists in 16.5 minutes, and his 12 double-figure scoring efforts included a season-high 15 points three times.