Doug Collins will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Doug Collins has had many names throughout his career: Jet, GOAT, friend, father, All-American, father figure, Olympian, mentor, broadcaster, All-Star, benefactor, but on Sunday night he added another – Nasmith Basketball Hall of Famer .

The highest honor for anyone involved in basketball, Collins joins a who's who of basketball history, including basketball founder James Naismith and a player he coached in both Chicago and Washington and the Arguably considered the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan.

Collins has played and worked at almost every level of basketball, including All-American at Illinois State, NBA top overall draft pick, 1972 Olympic gold medalist, player for the Philadelphia 76ers, coach of the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards as well as an NBA and Olympic broadcaster for ABC/ESPN, CBS, NBC, TNT and TBS.

“I think I have the error-free gene that when I do something, I want to be the best at it,” Collins said at his press conference Saturday. “As a young person, I was never afraid of failure and always thought that I could learn a lot about myself in those moments. I didn’t get on my high school team until I was a senior. I scored three points each.” As a junior, I went to college to play for the first black head coach in Division I. I met coach Will Robinson and fell in love with him. He taught me tenacity and gave me great wisdom.

“I've always built relationships with older men because I like wisdom,” Collins said when asked about his decision to play for the first Black head coach and his pride in it. “The Bible says seek wisdom, and that is what I have always sought. Coach Robinson came at the end of my first season, he was about 60 years old at the time and came out of Detroit Pershing High School. He coached Spencer Heyward. “Sometimes when you meet someone and look into their eyes, you can just feel something special, and I felt that with Coach.

His humble beginnings and expectations quickly grew into something much greater under the knowledge and guidance of Coach Robinson. “When I went to college I was 6'8″ and 175 pounds, so I didn't go there to be an NBA player, I went there to be my high school coach. I wanted to be a teacher, that's what I wanted. As a coach, I wanted to get married and start a family. Every year that passed, my career grew exponentially.

When speaking about Coach Robinson, Collins recounted a moment that ultimately turned out to be a fulfilled prophecy. “My senior year we played Arkansas – we always had to play the bigger schools on the road because they wouldn’t come here to play us – and we beat them. It was a really good win. We left the court and he had his arm around me and I said it was a great win but asked how he was taking all the heckling and things that were being said about him. He said, “Champ, these people don't know this one day.” “We're going to have a black coach.” Now it's 1994 and it's Duke vs. Arkansas in the NCAA championship game and my son plays for Duke Arkansas ( with Nolan Richardson as head coach) and wins with a three-pointer from Scotty Thurman. Coach Robinson was a visionary not only that they would have a black coach, but that he would lead them to a national championship. I listened to him.

Collins' playing ability will forever remain in Illinois State history, but his legacy is literally etched in history outside of CEFCU Arena. “My friend Don Franke and his family paid to have a statue erected in front of our arena at Illinois State of Coach Robison kneeling with my hand on his shoulder. I've always told people it's not a basketball story. This is her.” A white kid from Benton, Illinois, who met this black man from Detroit and came together to develop a Division I program for him to lead. For me it was a love story: 'My hand on his shoulder. 'You and I believe in you'.”

Collins will be joined by twelve others in the 2024 Hall of Fame class, including: Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Charles Smith, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Jerry West and Herb Simon.

Collins remains the most decorated athlete in Illinois State history. The three-time All-American and member of the 1972 Olympic team holds the Illinois State records for career scoring (2,240), season scoring (847), career field goals made (894) and season field goals made goals (352). During his ISU career, he played nine 40-point games, including the second- and third-highest scoring games in program history. He scored in double figures in all 77 games of his career. The floor at CEFCU Arena was renamed “Doug Collins Court” on February 3, 2007. Due to his outstanding play, he was the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

He also received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Collins becomes the 15th prospect from a Missouri Valley Conference school, including: Coach Dr. Forrest C. (Phog) Allen (Kansas, class of 1959), coach Walter Meanwell (Missouri, class of 1959), Ed Macauley (Saint Louis, 1960). Class), Bob Kurland (Oklahoma State, Class of 1961), Coach Henry “Hank” Iba (Oklahoma State, Class of 1968), Coach Eddie Hickey (Creighton and Saint Louis, Class of 1978), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati, Class of 1979), Wes Unseld (Louisville, Class of 1988), Coach Ralph Miller (Wichita State, Class of 1988), Coach Denny Crum (Louisville, Class of 1994), Larry Bird (Indiana State, Class of 1998), Chet Walker (Bradley, Class of 2012), Nolan Richardson (Tulsa, Class of 2014) and Maurice Cheeks (West Texas State, Class of 2018).

Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at all levels – men's and women's, amateur and professional players , trainers and contributors at home and abroad.

The Hall of Fame Museum is home to more than 400 inductees and over 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame Museum each year to learn more about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on Jerry Colangelo's “Court of Dreams.” Best known for its annual enshrinement ceremony honoring the game's elite, the Hall of Fame hosts over 70 high school and college competitions annually across the country and abroad.

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