Doug Collins

[NU Houston]

Named to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Congrats to Doug and the Collins family.

Doug Collins named to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024

Collins, the Bulls head coach from 1986 through 1989, gets his Hall of Fame nod in a basketball career which includes his contributions in the 1972 Olympics, when he hit perhaps the two most pressure free throws in the history of the game.

www.nba.com

 

[NUCat320]

I had totally forgotten the 1972 Olympics story. Seems ripe for the documentary treatment.

Congrats to Doug and family. Redbirds legend.

 

[4IUSox2]

And a Benton (IL) HS Ranger, down in southern Illinois. SI cover boy in ‘72 or ‘73 while at ISU. Heady stuff to be sure. Played with legends like Dr J, George McGinnis and Bobby Jones for the Sixers.

 

[elgatoloco]

On my personal Mount Rushmore. I grew up in Normal when he was playing and the years after, when he ran a summer camp—actually there every day, all day to teach kids, not show up once and give a speech—and hung out at Illinois State to play pickup games. The Summer Olympics fiasco has been covered in documentaries before (I guess some believe it was handled correctly, but I'll never believe that), and the silver medals remain in a vault to this day because Collins and others refuse to accept them. He gave up his starting spot in the NBA All Star Game to John Havlicek.

Always had Jordan's respect as a coach and got the Bulls from Point A to Point B—it was an awful franchise when he joined. After the Bulls won their first championship, Reinsdorf gave Collins a watch commemorating the championship.

 

[Bwm57]

Since it was from Reinsdorf, it was probably a Casio.