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Collins announces retirement TOOK UIC TO 3 NCAA TOURNAMENTS IN 14 SEASONS July 21, 2010
Jimmy Collins, the man who guided UIC to new heights during his tenure, decided to call it a career after 14 seasons of coaching the Flames. Perhaps beaten down over the last few years by a health scare and disappointing results, Collins made the call to leave UIC, effective Aug. 31, 2010. But not before racking up 218 wins and leading the Flames to four 20-win seasons and four postseason appearances, including three NCAA tournaments. “It is difficult to leave UIC and the great student-athletes who are returning,” Collins, 62, said in a statement released by the university on Tuesday. “After much introspection, I feel it is my time to enjoy retirement and have more time with my family. “I thank all the people who have made my time in coaching so memorable and fulfilling. … I thank the people at UIC for their confidence in my ability.” UIC athletic director Jim Schmidt said the school will conduct a national search for Collins’ replacement. “Jimmy Collins holds the all-time winningest men’s basketball coach title and during his tenure raised the stature of the UIC men’s basketball program,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Coach Collins embraced the values that UIC Athletics aspires to uphold. He had great integrity, leadership skills and accountability while holding academics, the student-athlete experience and excellence as his guiding principles.” Now Schmidt has work to do in finding the coach that will take the Flames to the next step. “We anticipate great interest in our head men’s basketball coaching position,” Schmidt said. “The UIC men’s basketball program will have the components for an excellent future.” ESPNChicago.com reported that Illinois assistants Jerrance Howard and Jay Price, Minnesota assistant Vince Taylor and Wisconsin assistant Howard Moore are UIC’s prime targets early in the search. The website also said that former Oregon coach Ernie Kent, who has roots in northern Illinois and has experienced success recruiting Chicago, could also be a candidate. Current Flames assistants Bryant Lowe and Mark Miller could also get some consideration. Former associate head coach Tracy Dildy, who many believed was Collins’ successor in waiting, recently took the vacant head coaching position at Chicago State. Another candidate who could possibly apply is Tracy Webster, a former assistant at Illinois, Kentucky and DePaul. Webster finished the season as DePaul’s interim head coach after Jerry Wainwright was fired at midseason. Collins was hired by the Flames on March 27, 1996 shortly after Bob Hallberg was dismissed. Collins was an assistant at Illinois for 13 seasons under his mentor Lou Henson prior to his hiring at UIC. After a 1-8 start in his rookie season as a head coach, the Flames won 14 of 20 to end the season and fell by one point to Butler in the MCC championship game. Collins was named MCC Co-Coach of the Year after the 15-14 campaign. “I’m not a rookie coach, but I’m a rookie head coach,” Collins told the Chicago Flame during that 1996-97 campaign. That first season set the tone for arguably the greatest season in UIC history when the Flames went 22-6, earned a share of the MCC regular-season title, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The 1997-98 Flames, which featured stars such as Mark Miller, Bryant Lowe and Anthony Coomes, defeated Michigan State, Illinois State, Valparaiso, Detroit and Butler — all teams that made the NCAA field that season. The Valparaiso squad that made it to the Sweet 16 received the worst beating of their season (72-51) at the hands of UIC. After losing his three stars, Collins’ Flames took a couple of years to rebuild. But with a recruiting class that included Cedrick Banks, Martell Bailey, Armond Williams and Aaron Carr, UIC went on the best sustained run in school history. The Flames returned to the NCAA tournament in 2001-02 after a 20-14 record and a memorable run through the Horizon League tournament as a sixth seed. UIC defeated No. 3 seed Milwaukee and No. 2 seed Detroit before knocking off crosstown rival Loyola 76-75 on Banks’ last-second jumper in overtime in arguably the greatest championship game in MCC/Horizon League history. UIC made its first NIT appearance following a 21-9 campaign in the 2002-03 season. The Flames lost 63-62 to Western Michigan in the opening round of the tournament — the closest they came to winning a national postseason game. The next season, the Flames soared to a school-record 24 wins. UIC’s 24-8 mark included a run of 12 straight victories, which was capped by wins at Butler (65-56) in the Horizon League semifinals and at Milwaukee (65-62) in the Horizon League title game. The Flames never quite reached that level for the rest of Collins’ tenure. During the 2006-07 season, Collins took a leave of absence at midseason to have surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Collins’ associate head coach, Mark Coomes, ran the team in his absence. The 2007-08 Flames’ team won 18 games before bowing out to Butler in the Horizon League semifinals. The next season with seniors Josh Mayo and Scott VanderMeer leading the way, UIC looked poised to return to the 20-win plateau and postseason play. However, after a 7-2 start that included a 19-point win at Vanderbilt, things turned sour. Collins’ squad never totally recovered and finished 16-15 overall. In Collins’ final season, UIC struggled mightily without Mayo, VanderMeer and emerging star Tori Boyd, who left after his sophomore season. The Flames ended the campaign 8-22 and lost in the opening round of the Horizon League tournament for the first time since the conference changed its postseason format in 2003. Collins finished his UIC career with a 218-208 record. “The student-athletes that I have had the pleasure of coaching and mentoring over the course of my career will always be a major part of my life, and I thank those young people for allowing me to be in their lives,” Collins said. “Most of all, I want to thank my family for enduring the life of a college basketball coach.” |
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