COACH'S CORNER: “The pressure’s on them”

5 minutes with Jimmy Collins

(As published in Whoosh! magazine Nov. 4, 2003)

Whoosh!: “The preseason polls have the Flames as an overwhelming favorite to win the Horizon League. How much pressure do you feel?”

Collins: “I don’t really feel a lot pressure. As I’ve told people all the time, it’s a good position to be in, because we’ve worked so hard to get to this point. When you work hard, you always have to believe it’s going to pay off. Now the pressure is on other people to knock us off. That’s the way we’ve got to look at it. We’re the guys with the bull’s-eye on our chest, so other teams have to shoot straight to knock us off.”

Whoosh!: “Is this the deepest team you’ve had, and how do you get playing time for all these kids?”

Collins: “We’re going to put pressure on teams for 40 minutes. This is the deepest team I’ve had the pleasure to coach and that includes when was down in Champaign. We have a lot of guys that can play the game of basketball on our team and a lot of guys that want to play. That’s what makes practices so much fun, because guys are bumping and knocking and shooting on each other and dunking on each other. That’s what going to make our team better, because when you practice against competition, you play well against competition.”

Whoosh!: “Is there anyone that you feel will break out this season?”

Collins: “I’m looking for Aaron Carr to break out this season, because he’s a guy that has so much talent. As long he keeps his head on straight, I’m looking for him to break out. But, I’ve got a guy named Jovan Stefanov. Six-nine perimeter player. Nobody knows about him, but everybody will. I think he’s player who will surprise a lot of people. He surprises me on a daily basis—the way he handles the ball. He’s going to make a lot of people want to come out and watch the Flames play.

Whoosh!: “In a few words, describe the 2003-04 UIC Flames.”

Collins: “Athletic. Smart. Tough. In only a few words, I don’t know if I can do it, but they are warriors. More importantly, they are good citizens.”