DePaul guard Jalen Coleman-Lands granted sixth year of eligibility by NCAA
DePaul senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands gets hoisted into the air by fans after DePaul defeated Texas Tech 65-60 in overtime.
DePaul senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands has been granted a sixth year of eligibility after receiving a waiver from the NCAA, the athletic department announced Wednesday.
Coleman-Lands transferred from Illinois to DePaul in 2017 and had to sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules. But the Indianapolis native made his DePaul debut a year later and played in the first nine games of the season before a broken left hand ended his season. As a result, the 6-foot-4-inch guard played in less than 30 percent of the Blue Demons’ games during the 2018-19 season — which allowed the NCAA to grant Coleman-Lands a medical hardship waiver for the 2020-21 season.
During the 2019-2020 season, Coleman-Lands started all 32 games for head coach Dave Leitao, and averaged 11.1 points per game and led the team with 63 3-pointers. But Coleman-Lands’ shining moment of the season came against Texas Tech on Dec. 4. With the Blue Demons trailing 53-50 with 11 seconds to play, Coleman-Lands knocked down a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.
“I saw a flare and it touched my hands and I knew it was going up, it felt good,” Coleman-Lands said after the game. “I was just kind of locked in.”
In the following five minutes, the shooting guard hit another two 3-pointers to give his team a 61-60 lead, with DePaul hanging on for a 65-60 victory. With the win, DePaul improved to 9-0, giving them their best start to a season in three decades.
The Blue Demons would finish out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 12-1 record, giving them a strong resume for an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. But a 3-15 Big East record put an end to DePaul’s tournament hopes. DePaul did win its first round game against Xaiver in the Big East Tournament on March 11, but the rest of the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In 41 games at DePaul, Coleman-Lands is averaging 10.8 points per game per game with 77 3-pointer games. Coleman-Lands is expected to be a starter for Leitao — who was given a four-year contract extension April 2 — next season.
