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Big news: Collins rewarded, Banks is back
COACH GETS EXTENSION, STAR MEETS REQUIREMENTS
(7/15/04)
The 56-year old Collins (pictured in center of huddle with Banks) will get a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2008-09 season, while the Flames’ leading scorer learned word that met academic requirements for graduation in four years according to a report in Wednesday’s Daily Herald.
Banks now is set to return to court for a fourth season after sitting out his freshman year due to Prop 48 guidelines. The 6-foot-2-inch guard, barring injury, should become UIC’s all-time leading scorer by the end of the 2004-05 regular season.
Meanwhile, the Herald stated that forward Armond Williams is still working on completing his requirements and will take his final examination over the weekend. However, the Herald also said the news may not be as good for stalwart point guard Martell Bailey.
The team should know about both Williams and Bailey within the next couple of weeks.
Collins’ deal was scheduled to end after the 2005-06 season, stemming from a three-year extension he received two years ago.
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees will make a final vote on the extension proposal during its meeting Thursday.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Collins is currently making $244,027 per season. The proposal will raise his income to $299,027 per year over the life of the deal. The contract also includes compensation for summer basketball camps and incentive bonus for making postseason play and increasing attendance.
According to the document, the coach would earn a 7-percent bonus any season the Flames appear in the NCAA tournament and an additional 7-percent bonus for each tournament win. He will receive a $5,000 bonus if average attendance is above 4,000 and another $5,000 if the crowds average over 8,000. There are also incentives if the team makes the National Invitation Tournament.
Collins took the Flames to the Horizon League tournament championship in 2002 and 2004 and earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In 2003, the Flames went to the NIT.
Last season, UIC set a school record with 24 wins, which included a streak of 12 consecutive victories down the stretch, heading into the NCAA tournament. The Flames were saddled with a difficult draw in the first round of the “Big Dance” and lost 78-53 to Kansas at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
Collins also guided UIC to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season championship and its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1998 as the Flames finished 22-6 and earned its only at-large selection to the “Dance.”
Collins came to Chicago after spending 13 years as Lou Henson’s top recruiter with the Illinois Fighting Illini. His career started slowly as UIC opened 1-8 in the 1996-97 campaign, but he orchestrated a 14-6 run to end the season at 15-14 and got the team within a basket of the NCAA tournament after losing 69-68 to Butler in 1997 MCC championship game.
The team will return at least two starters (Banks and Justin Bowen) with four others that had key roles in the team’s 10-man rotation last season – Elliott Poole, Josip Petrusic, Jovan Stefanov and Marcetteaus McGee. The Flames’ top newcomers include forward Luther Boyd and guards Karl White and Rocky Collum.
RECRUITING TIDBITS: The Flames have interest in two top area high school seniors, according to recent published reporters. They are Westinghouse forward DeAndre Thomas and Hales Franciscan forward Nate Minnoy.
Thomas is 6-foot-7 and has great ability in the post, but his weight is a concern. He makes up for lack of leaping ability by using his strength.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Thomas is considering UIC, Illinois, DePaul, Purdue, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Ohio State.
Minnoy is 6-foot-4 and is pretty versatile. He has a game similar to Armond Williams, especially as far as toughness, but is probably better on the outside than Williams. He helped lead Hales to the 2003 Class A state championship.
The Sun-Times said that Minnoy has received scholarship offers from UIC, Butler, Purdue, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso, Iowa State, Mississippi, Toledo, and Bowling Green.
The 6-foot-9-inch Spears (pictured), who had an injury-riddled career with the Illini, transferred to Highland Community College for the upcoming season – his sophomore year. He would be eligible the next year to compete at a Division I program.
A commitment from Spears could give the Flames a formidable frontline in 2005-06 with Poole and Boyd returning for the senior seasons.
SCHEDULE SLOWLY TAKING SHAPE: According to tentative schedules from other schools, the Flames will play two games with archrival Wisconsin-Milwaukee in five days. UIC visits UWM on Feb. 3 with the return game at the Pavilion on Feb. 7 – the Monday after the Super Bowl.
The Flames’ city rivalry with Loyola will be renewed on Thursday, Jan. 6 at the Gentile Center. The return game at the Pavilion is slated for Feb. 16.
UIC will open the Horizon League slate at Detroit Dec. 30 and at Youngstown State Jan. 3. Detroit will visit the Pavilion Jan. 20 and YSU comes calling Feb. 10. The Flames’ regular season will close at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Feb. 26 when they play Butler.
Non-conference road games are slated with Illinois State, Northwestern, Bowling Green, UNC-Wilmington and the Bracket Buster.
Also, a possible home opponent could be South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits, entering their first year in Division I basketball, are coached by Scott Nagy, son of current color commentator and former UIC assistant Dick Nagy. Scott Nagy is entering his 10th year as head man at SDSU. He was a graduate assistant with the 1989 Flyin’ Illini.
The official schedule likely won’t be released until August or September.
PRO FLAMES: Former UIC center Thor Solverson (1997-2002) is currently making his mark in the professional ranks overseas.
The 6-foot-11 Solverson plays for Meyrin Grand-Saconnex in Switzerland and lead the league with 13.3 rebounds per game this past season. He averaged 11.3 points per contest over 21 games and shot 58 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free-throw line.
Ironically, Meyrin’s leading scorer is Vladimir Buscaglia, who played one season for the Flames. Buscaglia averaged 17.5 points per game on 52 percent shooting and grabbed 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Both Solverson and Buscaglia have re-signed with Meyrin for next season.
Another former Flame player made noise in Russia as swingman Bryant Notree played with Avrodor Saratov in the Russian Superleague. He averaged 13.3 points per game in 13 games this past season.
Notree’s season high was 40 points against Nowosybirsk on March 9, 2004. He shot 51 percent from the field and averaged four rebounds per game.
Notree, who also played at UIC in 1998-99, was one of the CBA’s top players with the Gary Steelheads in 2002-03. He also was in the Memphis Grizzlies training camp a few years back.
Finally, Steve Farmer, who played at UIC in 1998-99, was released from the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings last month, as he was trying to make the team as a tight end.
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The UIC Flames, particularly head coach Jimmy Collins and superstar Cedrick Banks, received a healthy dose of good news this week.
Collins is 131-109 during his eight years at UIC, including a run of 65-31 over the past three seasons. Collins is three victories away from surpassing Bob Hallberg, the man he replaced in March 1996.
Another possible recruit that the Flames could be chasing is former Illinois center Aaron Spears, who prepped at Dunbar.
The 6-foot-6 Buscaglia (pictured) averaged 2.8 points over 20 games, which included six starts, in the 1998-99 campaign, in which the Flames went 7-21. He left for Wabash Valley Community College after the season and played two years at American University in Washington D.C.