Doug Collins Bio

Doug Collins
Benton, IL.
6' 6"
#20
Guard
1970-73

At ISU

Scored 2,240 points in his career at ISU (A school record)
Scored 40 or more points in game 8 times.
Averaged 29.1 points/game,before the advent of the 3 point shot (A school record)
Made 894 Field Goals (A school record)
Made 452 of 549 free throws during his 3 year career
ISU's 1st Division 1 scholarship basketball player
Voted All-American in 1971, 1972, and 1973
GTE Academic All-American Hall of Famer (inducted in 1996)
Collins' #20 jersey is currently the only Redbird Men's Basketball jersey to be retired
Was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on January 15th of 1973
Holds the top 3 places in ISU's top 10 list for points scored in a season with 847, 743, and 650
Games of 57 and 55 points rank 2nd and 3rd on ISU's top 10 points/game highs
He had 24 field goal performances in 2 different games

Freshman Year - Did not play due to NCAA rules in existence at the time which did not allow freshmen to play.
Sophomore Year - As a sophomore he made 273 of 609 field goals, 197 of 235 free throws, and scored 743 points. NCAA Division 1 All American.
Junior Year - Made 352 out of 704 field goal attempts, and scored 847 points. Averaged 32.6 points/game. NCAA Division 1 All American.
Senior Year - Scored 650 points. NCAA Division 1 All American.

In the Olympics

Doug was a member of the 1972 USA Men's Basketball squad at the Munich Games. Collins sank 2 free throws after being fouled hard with 3 seconds to play to give the USA a 50-49 lead over the Soviet Union in the gold medal game. That was the USA's first lead in the game. One of the most memorable moments in Olympic sports history began at that moment. The Soviets in bounded the ball, but the play stopped with 1 second remaining because a Soviet Union coach was on the floor. The Soviets in bounded the ball and missed a full court prayer as time expired. As the United States team celebrate what they thought was a gold medal victory an international basketball executive stepped in and ordered the final 3 seconds replayed. The Soviet Union this time made a full court pass to Aleksander Belov who made a lay-up after knocking down 2 players who were guarding him. It was the first loss for the US in 36 years. Team USA boycotted the medal ceremony. The Olympic Committee still retains the Silver medals in the event the United States should decide to accept them. The Munich Games also included the most terrible event in Olympic history when 11 Israeli athletes lost their lives during a botched hostage takeover.

In the NBA

Doug was the #1 Draft Pick in the 1973 Draft. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers. Doug was also selected #1 by New York of the ABA. Collins played for 8 seasons with the 76ers. He scored 7,427 points, averaging 17.9 points per game and was selected to play in four all-star games (1976-79), but because of injury played did not play in 1979. An accurate shooter, the 6'6" guard shot .501 from the field in his NBA career, posting his best season in 1977-78, averaging 19.7 points and 4.1 assists per game while shooting .526 from the field. He averaged 21.5 points per game in 32 playoff games and led Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference Championship in 1977, before the team fell to Portland in six games.

Doug's 1974/75 Season NBA Card

College Coaching Positions

The University of Pennsylvania in 1981 as an assistant coach under Bob Weinhauer. Arizona State for two seasons beginning in 1982 as an assistant coach under Bob Weinhauer.

NBA Head Coaching/Analyst positions

Chicago Bulls (1986-89) - Collins began his NBA coaching career as head coach for the Chicago Bulls, joining the organization on May 23, 1986 and coached the Bulls for three straight seasons. He coached them to their best record (50-32) in 15 years during the 1987-88 season. He also brought the team into the playoffs three straight seasons, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to Detroit, 2-4, during the 1988-89 season.

Detroit Pistons (1995 -98) - In his first year as the Pistons head coach, Collins engineered a franchise record-tying 18-game Pistons turnaround in 1995-96, guiding Detroit to 46 wins and his first playoff berth in four seasons. In the following season, the team won 54 games, the third highest total in Pistons history. The 1996-97 team also set a Detroit all-time record, winning 40 games in just 53 tries, a mark faster than any team in Pistons history. Collins won his 200th NBA contest on Dec. 15, 1996.

Because of his success, Collins was rewarded with the opportunity to coach the Eastern Conference in the 1997 All-Star Game. He coached two of his own All-Star players, Joe Dumars and Grant Hill, to a 132-120 victory over the Western Conference.

Collins earned a reputation as strong advocate of defense as his Pistons teams ranked second in the NBA for two straight seasons. Detroit yielded just 92.9 points per game in 1995-96, a number almost 13 points better than the team's defensive average in 1994-95. The team bettered that mark the following season, allowing three fewer points per game (88.9).

Collins served not only as the Piston's bench coach, but also as the head of basketball operations. He directed all basketball related matters, which included the hiring of the entire basketball administration and all decisions regarding the team's coaching and scouting staffs. worked with Vice President of Basketball Operations Rick Sund to guide the team through all of its scouting assignments, draft selections, trades and free agent signings.

NBC - Collins served as a NBA analyst on NBC for four seasons. He joined NBC Sports March 17, 1998, teaming up with Bob Costas. He later joined with play-by-play announcer Marv Albert to make up the network's top NBA broadcast team. Doug was widely regarded as television's finest basketball analyst. Doug also provided insight and in-depth commentary as NBC's men's basketball analyst during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, his first Olympics as a broadcaster.

TBN - Collins also earned all-star status as an NBA analyst for six years at Turner Broadcasting. His work at Turner earned him nominations for two Cable ACE Awards and one Emmy nomination. He earned Emmy nominations for his work at NBC in 1998 and 2000.

Washington Wizards (2001 - Date) - Collins was asked by Michael Jordan, whom Collins coached in Chicago, to coach the Wizards. This will be his 2nd season at the helm in Washington.

Search for Doug Collins memorabilia on E-Bay

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