Jimmy Collins (basketball)

Jimmy Collins

Sport(s)	Basketball
Biographical details
Born	(1946-11-24) November 24, 1946 Syracuse, New York
Playing career
1967–1970	New Mexico State
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1983–1996	Illinois (asst.)
1996–2010	UIC
Head coaching record
Overall	218–208 (.512)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2× Horizon League Tournament championship (2002, 2004) Horizon League regular season championship (1998)

James E. "Jimmy" Collins (born (1946-11-24)November 24, 1946) is a retired American basketball player and coach. He was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, where he attended Corcoran High School. Collins was the head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1996 to 2010, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach and leading UIC to its first-ever postseason appearances - NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2004, and an NIT showing in 2003.

Prior to his coaching tenure with the UIC Flames, Collins was a longtime assistant at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There he had made a name for himself as one of the nation's best recruiters, helping lure Chicago area players such as eventual NBA veterans like Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson and the bulk of the Fighting Illini's 1989 Final Four team. Collins himself arrived in Champaign as an assistant to coach Lou Henson, who was also his coach as a player at New Mexico State University, where Collins was the captain of an Aggie squad that reached the 1970 Final Four. Collins was then drafted in the First Round of the NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls, enjoying a brief professional career with them and with the Carolina Cougars of the ABA.

On July 20, 2010, Collins announced his retirement as coach of the UIC Flames after 14 years at the helm.

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UIC Flames (Horizon League) (1996–2010)
1996–97	UIC	15–14	11–5	T–6th
1997–98	UIC	22–6	12–2	T–1st	NCAA First Round
1998–99	UIC	7–21	2–12	8th
1999–00	UIC	11–20	5–9	7th
2000–01	UIC	11–17	5–9	6th
2001–02	UIC	20–14	8–8	6th	NCAA First Round
2002–03	UIC	21–9	12–4	3rd	NIT First Round
2003–04	UIC	24–8	12–4	2nd	NCAA First Round
2004–05	UIC	15–14	8–8	T–4th
2005–06	UIC	16–15	8–8	T–3rd
2006–07	UIC	14–18	7–9	T–4th
2007–08	UIC	18–15	9–9	T–4th
2008–09	UIC	16–15	7–11	T–6th
2009–10	UIC	8–22	3–15	9th
UIC:		218–208 (.512)	109–113 (.491)
Total:		218–208 (.512)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

External links

• NBA career stats