E.C. Coleman

E.C. Coleman Jr. (born September 25, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player who competed in the National Basketball Association from 1973 to 1978 and was regarded as one of the league's premier defensive forwards during his career.

Raised in Flora, Mississippi, Coleman was the son of E.C. Coleman Sr., a United States Army veteran who worked as a roofer; he was given his father's initials because his mother did not want to name him Efram III. As a child he labored twelve hours a day to help his parents, who worked as sharecroppers, until he was old enough to enter junior high school.

Coleman played college basketball for the Houston Baptist Huskies and was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 1973 NBA draft. In the 1974 NBA expansion draft he was chosen by the New Orleans Jazz, where he gained prominence for his defensive abilities and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 1977. He played for the Golden State Warriors during the 1977–78 season and earned a nomination to the All-Defensive Second Team. Coleman finished his playing career with the Rockets in 1978.