Justin Coleman, a 6-5, 210-pound guard/forward from Richmond, Va. who played last season at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep School; and Elisha Justice, a 5-10, 180-pound guard from Shelby Valley High School in Pikeville, Ky., have each signed a national letter-of-intent to continue their basketball playing careers at the University of Louisville.
Coleman averaged 20.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists for Coach Rob Fulford as a senior last season at Huntington Prep.
"Justin is exactly what we need offensively to play one of our wing positions," said University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach Rick Pitino. "He's an explosive athlete who shoots the ball well. He needs to take care of business academically, but we're cautiously optimistic that he'll be in a Louisville uniform next year."
Coleman is ranked 40th nationally and seventh among small forwards in the 2010 class by Scout.com; 50th overall and eighth among small forwards by Rivals.com; and is listed 50th in the nation among ESPNU's Top 100 prospects. His stock rose significantly at the 2009 NBA Player's Association Top 100 Camp, in which he was named the event's Most Surprising Player and won the slam dunk contest.
Coleman totalled 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and won the dunk contest in the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic all-star game played in Louisville's Freedom Hall on April 10. His scoring high as a senior was 32 points. He played the latter part of his junior year at Henrico High School in Richmond, Va. after transferring there from Louisa County High School in Mineral, Va. Coleman also considered Marquette, Arkansas, South Florida and Providence before signing with the Cardinals.
Honored as Kentucky's Mr. Basketball as a senior, Justice averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 steals for Coach Jason Booher as a senior last season as Shelby Valley posted a 32-4 record and won the 2010 Kentucky state championship.
"Loyalty is a tough word to use these days," said Pitino. "The Bullet has shown great loyalty to this university and our coaching staff. He turned down numerous scholarships to walk on at U of L, and we're happy that he'll now be given a scholarship next year. He's a terrific assists-to-turnovers player, shoots the ball well from outside, and is a winner. He's someone at the end of games who makes free throws and makes the right decisions to enable you to win. We're excited to have him in our program."
The Sweet 16's Most Valuable Player, Justice connected on 43.5 percent of his three-point shots (64-of-147) and 82.3 percent of his free throws (149-of-181). The 2010 Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year, he produced school record career totals of 2,086 points, 633 assists and a Kentucky state record 540 steals.
Nicknamed "The Bullet" by Pitino, Justice totalled 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic all-star game played in Louisville's Freedom Hall on April 10. He will wear the No. 1 jersey for the Kentucky all-star team when it meets Indiana in games on June 11 at Bellarmine's Knights Hall and June 12 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
U of L has now signed three members for the 2010 freshman class, as 6-0, 160-pound guard Russ Smith from New York, who played a year of prep school at the South Kent (Conn.) School last season, signed with the Cardinals last November.
