One of the most explosive players in Nebraska history, Crystal Coleman provided plenty of highlights during her two-plus seasons in Lincoln. The 5-8 guard from East St. Louis, Ill., dots the Nebraska record book in several single-game and single-season categories.
As a freshman in 1981-82, Coleman appeared in 30 of NU's 31 games and averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. She also led the Huskers with 65 steals, which still ranks as the third-highest total by a freshman in school history.
She was even better as a sophomore, capturing honorable-mention All-Big Eight honors and ranking as one of the Big Eight's best off the bench. She ranked second on the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game, while adding 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. She also led the team in steals for the second straight year with 58, which still ranks as the fifth-best total by a sophomore in school history. She hit 50.5 percent of her shots from the field and 70.1 percent of her free throw attempts.
Among the many highlights of her sophomore season, Coleman erupted for 41 points against Oklahoma State on Feb. 19, 1983. The total, which still ranks as the third-most points scored by a Husker in a single game, earned her Big Eight Player-of-the-Week accolades.
Coleman appeared in 12 non-conference games for Nebraska as a junior in 1983-84, but did not play during the Big Eight season and did not return for her senior year. She was off to a spectacular start as a junior, averaging 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game, helping NU to a 9-3 start to open the season. In the final game of her career against Pepperdine on Jan. 11, 1984, Coleman dished out a career-high 12 assists, which is tied for the fifth-highest total in school history.
Coleman closed her abbreviated career with 976 points, 300 rebounds, 229 assists and 164 steals. Her steals total ranks just outside NU's career top 10, despite appearing in just 68 career games. She went to play professionally for many years in Europe.
One of the best players in the history of prep powerhouse Lincoln High School in East St. Louis, Ill., Coleman scored 2,700 points in her prep career and helped Lincoln win 61 consecutive games. She was a two-time All-Illinois selection and a high school teammate of Debra Powell, who went on to one of the top careers in NU history.
The daughter of Annette Coleman, Crystal was born Dec. 6, 1962. Coleman was a special education major at Nebraska.
Coleman's Career Statistics
Year
G-GS
FG-FGA
Pct.
3P-3PA
Pct.
FT-FTA
Pct.
TRB-Avg.
PF-D
A
TO
Blk
ST
Pts-Avg.
1981-82 30 162-336 .482 NA NA 44-75 .587 100-3.3 97 99 100 11 65 368-12.31982-83 26 160-312 .505 NA NA 80-114 .701 139-5.4 83 69 63 8 58 400-15.41983-84 12 83-147 .565 NA NA 42-54 .778 61-5.1 43 61 49 6 41 208-17.3Career
68
405-795
.509
NA
NA
166-243
.683
300-4.4
223
229
212
25
164
976-14.4