By Gary Lloyd
HOMEWOOD — Hewitt-Trussville senior guard Jarvis Calhoun and Wenonah senior point guard Justin Coleman played together on AAU teams dating back to the second grade.
On Thursday night in the first round of the Steel City Invitational, they faced each other.
Neither played their best game, a contest Class 5A No. 1 Wenonah won 77-66.
Calhoun, a UAB signee, led Hewitt-Trussville (11-3) with 21 points, but he connected on just 10-of-27 shots from the field and made just one of his nine 3-point attempts. Calhoun now has 1,896 career points. Coleman, an Alabama signee, got in early foul trouble but managed to score 14 points and dish five assists. He turned the ball over four times and knocked down just three of his 10 shots. He connected on seven of eight free throw attempts, making all six of his second-half attempts.
“He’s a great point guard,” Calhoun said of Coleman. “There’s no doubt about it. He’s quick, he can pull up. He’s good.”
Calhoun and Coleman guarded each other very little except for in defensive switch situations. Hewitt-Trussville senior guard Connor Murrell did a “great” job on Coleman, Calhoun said. Calhoun said the game plan was to limit Coleman’s offensive productivity, to “not let him go for 45.”
“Connor stepped up big,” he said.
Coleman complimented Calhoun’s game, which he said includes more of a pure scorer mentality as opposed to his more of a distributor role.
“He’s a great player,” Coleman said. “He can shoot the ball really well. He can create his own shot. He’s a good player.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.