The prototypical Big East power forward, Derrick Coleman dominated the rebounding charts during four of the most eventful years in Syracuse basketball history.

"Coleman was more than just a rebounder," wrote Syracuse historian R. L. Moore. "He was an excellent ball handler for a man his size, and possessed a nice perimeter shot, particularly in the era when big men did not shoot from the outside. He was an dominating defensive presence, with quick feet, and an intimidating blocker. He was able to run the court well, and because of his ball handling, he was often used to help bring the ball up the court against full court press defenses.

"Coleman's scoring numbers are relatively low for a man of his ability, in part because he was an excellent team player, and in part because he shared the court with phenomenal scorers such as [Sherman] Douglas, [Billy] Owens, [Rony] Seikaly, and [Stevie] Thompson. Even with all that, when he left Syracuse, he held the Syracuse all time scoring record."

Born in Alabama and raised in Detroit, Coleman joined the Orangemen in the 1986-87 season, joining a talented starting five which had lost Dwayne Washington but returned the likes of Douglas, Seikaly, and Greg Monroe. Coleman started every game his freshman season, earning Big East Rookie of the Year honors as the Orangemen won its first 14 games of the season and advancing to its third Big East final in four seasons, only to lose to Georgetown, 69-59. But following a run of early NCAA finishes, Coleman was the right man at the right time as the Orangemen mounted its best NCAA run in over a decade.

Coleman scored 43 points and 42 rebounds in four NCAA games, with 14 rebounds in Syracuse's upset of top seeded North Carolina, 79-75, earning its first Final Four appearance since 1975. He had 12 rebounds in the semifinal win over Providence, and 19 in the final versus Indiana, but may be better remembered for what he didn't do. Fouled in the final moments of the game, leading 73-72, Coleman missed the front end of a one and one, whereupon Keith Smart hit the game winning shot, 74-73.

A first team All-Big East selection in his sophomore and junior seasons, Coleman owned the Big East rebound charts while the Orangemen won 56 games over two seasons, including winning the 1988 Big East championship and finishing as a finalist in 1989. She shot 57 percent as a junior with a career high 422 rebounds in a single season.

As a senior, Coleman was named the Big East Player of the Year, despite never leading his team in scoring for the season. Averaging 19 points anad nearly 12 rebounds a game, he turned in a career best 26 point, 23 rebound effort in the Big East semifinal versus Villanova, and appeared in four consecutive Big East finals, though the Orangemen fell to Connecticut 78-75 in the 1990 championship game, signaling the arrival of Jim Calhoun's Huskies to their run of Big East dominance. Coleman averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds in three NCAA games that season, falling to Minnesota in the regional semifinal to end his college career.

Derrick Coleman was the #1 pick of the 1990 NBA draft and its 1990-91 Rookie of the Year, where he played 15 seasons among five teams, with an average of 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds. His Syracuse jersey was retired on March 5, 2006.