ON TOP OF THE CLASS

(1/18/05)

UIC coach Jimmy Collins knew he some big shoes to fill when he took over for Bob Hallberg in March of 1996.

Hallberg won 133 games in nine years as coach of the Flames, taking the team to the brink of the NCAA tournament on numerous occasions.

Collins, in his ninth-year as Flames boss, exceeded Hallberg with his 134th career victory when UIC defeated UNC-Wilmington 76-67 on Dec. 12. Collins stands at 139-115 after a victory over Cleveland State on Jan. 15.

“It was a milestone that I am extremely proud of, because I know the coach that Bob Hallberg is and the kind of obstacles he had to go through to become the winningest coach at that time,” Collins said. “For me to be able to walk in his shoes is something that I’m very proud, because I know how difficult it was to get here.”

Collins has taken the Flames to three NCAA tournaments, including earning an at-large bid in 1998 after a 22-6 season that featured victories over Michigan State, Missouri Valley champion Illinois State and Mid-Continent champion and Sweet 16 darling Valparaiso.

He guided the Flames to Horizon League tournament championships and automatic NCAA bids in 2002 and 2004.

The 2002 championship may have been his most impressive achievement, considering the mix of veterans and newcomers on the team. That team was 20-14 and finished in sixth place during the regular season, but a magical run of through the Horizon League tournament got UIC into the “Big Dance.”

Following that, the Flames played their best NCAA tournament game as a No. 15 seed, losing by just eight to Final Four-bound Oklahoma in the first round.

Collins also led the Flames to a 21-9 mark and the school’s first NIT berth in 2003.

The Flames had a school-record 24 wins last year (24-8) and won 12 straight games, culminating with a 65-62 victory at Wisconsin-Milwaukee to advance to advance the NCAA tournament again.

Here are Collins’ top three games:

#3 Illinois 68, UIC 63, UIC Pavilion, November 22, 1996: It was Collins’ first game at UIC fresh from a 13-year stint as an Illini assistant coach. It was played in front of the largest crowd in school history, 8,715. The Flames took a 52-51 lead with 7:22 left on Jevon Hobbs’ three-pointer, but the experienced Illini found a way to win down the stretch.

“We went into that game, and I affectionately called our team, the “Busy Burger Team” and their team was the “McDonald’s All-Stars,” Collins said. “We can barely afford to go to Busy Burger. To play them as close as we did, coming out of the blocks, was very rewarding. I normally don’t like moral victory, but that was one to be proud of.”

#2 UIC 65, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 62, Horizon League championship, U.S. Cellular Arena, Milwaukee, Wis., March 9, 2004: In a seesaw game, the Flames hung tough down the stretch and Elliott Poole scored on a layup with 34.6 seconds left to snap a 62-62 tie. After a defensive stand, Marcetteaus McGee split a pair of free throws to account for the final margin. The victory was especially sweet for the UIC, coming against Collins’ archrival Bruce Pearl, whose Panthers eliminated the Flames from NCAA consideration in 2003.

“To be able to go into their venue and win a game against a team like that, which was a very good team and a well-coached ballclub, definitely ranks very high on my list,” Collins said.

#1 UIC 76, Loyola 75 (OT), Horizon League championship, CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio, March 5, 2002: The Flames and the Ramblers were an unlikely pairing in this game, considering they finished sixth and fifth in the Horizon League, respectively, but it was likely the greatest League championship game in history.

In a game that featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes, Cedrick Banks, in just his first year as a Flames, hit a 8-foot jumper over Kevin Clancy on the left baseline with 4 seconds left in overtime to give UIC the victory and its first-ever conference tournament championship.

Banks had 17 points and his running mate, Martell Bailey scored six of his nine points in the OT. David Bailey, who played with Banks and Martell Bailey at Westinghouse High, led Loyola with 35 points.

“We had to come back several times in order to win that game,” Collins said. "It was a game of peaks and valleys. I have never been involved in a game where I had some many emotional ups and downs, especially with Larry Farmer coaching over there.”