| João Paulo Coelho |
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 | Class:
Freshman
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| Hometown:
Figueira de Foz, Portugal
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| Height / Weight:
6-2 / 185
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| Position:
Guard
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AT MIAMI:
Second-year freshman who brings a wealth of international experience
to the Hurricane backcourt ... will battle for minutes at the point with
Vernon Jennings and fellow freshman Micheal Simmons ... international experience
gives him a high level of maturity for a freshman ... tremendous court
vision and savvy ... has the ability to penetrate and dish or step out
and hit from long range ... is the latest import to enroll at UM following
current Hurricane Nick Donovan (England) as well as Constantin Popa (Romania)
and Tito Horford (Dominican Republic) ... signed with UM in the spring
of 1998 ... selected Miami over West Virginia, Rutgers, Furman and Davidson.
AT UNIVERSIDAD DE PORTO:
Attended one year, studying pre-medicine, but did not play basketball
because school did not have a team.
HIGH SCHOOL:
Attended Escola Secundaria Dr. Joaquin de Carvalho but did not play
basketball because school did not have a team.
CLUB BALL:
Starting point guard for the world team that defeated the United States
at the NIKE Hoop Summit at this season’s Final Four in San Antonio, TX
... is a current member of the Portuguese Under-22 national team ... was
one of only three Europeans selected to attend the prestigious NIKE All-America
Camp in Indianapolis, IN ... has been a member of Ginasio Clube Figueirense
since the age of seven ... started all 15 games for Ginasio last season
and averaged 17.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game ... was named
the 1997 MVP of the Portuguese amateur league ... was team captain of the
Under-16 National Team that recorded a 9th-place finish, Portugal’s best
ever, at the European Championships ... has spent the last two seasons
as a member of FC Porto, the two-time defending national club champion
of Portugal.
PERSONAL:
Full name is Jo‹o Paulo Coelho ... name is pronounced JAY-o POW-lo
Ko-A-lo...plans to major in pre-medicine ... born 3-14-79 in Marinha Grande,
Portugal ... enjoys working on his computer, listening to music, watching
movies and competing in other sports such as soccer, tennis and swimming
in his spare time ... lists Contact by Carl Sagan as his favorite book
... has one brother, Pedro Miguel (15) ... son of Vitor Manuel and Ana
Margarida Coelho ... father is a former member of the Portuguese National
Basketball team while his mother is a former gold medal winning swimmer
at the Portuguese National Championships.
