Flames are glad Chicago is Collins' kind of town

Sporting News, The, Oct 14, 1996 by Mike DeCourcy

He may have ditched the word "assistant" from his job description, but Jimmy Collins picked up a hyphen in his business address. As he goes through the process of constructing a recruiting class, though, it feels like nothing has changed.

As the rookie coach at Illinois-Chicago after 13 seasons as an assistant to Lou Henson at Illinois, Collins claims he is recruiting the same players he would have been for the Fighting Illini had Henson not been nudged into retirement "Of course it might be wish foul thinking, but until we get turned down we're looking at the best possible players in the city," Collins says. "We're looking at the best possible players all over the country. We've gone into a lot of homes, which a lot of staffs can't say. So from that aspect, it's gone well."

How well should be better gauged No. vember 6-13, the early signing period for recruits. UIC has placed an uncommon amount of faith in Collins, given his lack of experience as a head coach. Bob Hallberg was fired after averaging 15 wins in nine seasons and just two years after compiling 20 wins. His primary failing was an inability to guide the Flames to the NCAA Tournament. But there also was the matter of attendance, which hovered in the neighborhood of 1,200.

The school pledged to upgrade coaching salaries, recruiting funds and facilities upon hiring Collins, then dropped its Division I hockey program two days later. The two events were said to be unconnected, but hockey was costing UIC $750,000 a year. With that as a background, there is considerable pressure for Collins to succeed.

"I think the biggest challenge, and it's been well-documented, is getting people into the stands," Collins says. "The only way to get people into the stands is to win, and the only way to win is to get players."

The coaching staff Collins recruited to UIC is certainly high caliber. He has Dick Nagy,who worked with him for 13 years at Illinois, and lured Mark Coomes from Wabash Valley College (III.), a junior-college power. Coomes also worked previously at Illinois.

Collins insists he will not sign players at any cost. Asked whether he would have freedom to accept a player like Ronnie Fields, the Chicago high school star who talked of playing one year in college on his way to the NBA but did not qualify for freshman eligibility, Collins responds , "I think they would accept a kid who is relatively close and showed some signs of wanting to obtain a degree. But we do not want to bring in a young man who wants to use the University of Illinois-Chicago as a farm system."

There could not be a better time to be plunging into the battle for high school talent in Chicago and Illinois. It's possible no state, aside from California, has more prime players. Depending on the recruiting service you follow, more than 10 of the nation's top 100 players could be Illinois residents, and circumstances have prevented any one school from dominating this market.

Illinois has a mostly new staff, with Lon Kruger still working to establish a connection to the Chicago high school coaches who have fed the Illini with talent through the years. The DePaul coaches have done a fine job re-establishing their program with Chicago recruits after years of controversy regarding coach Joey Meyer's contract situation. But the administration has denied admission to too many signed recruits. At Loyola, Ken Burmeister still is in the early stages of rebuilding.

"We wouldn't have taken this job unless there was a chance to be successful," Collins says. "We feel UIC has been a sleeping giant. With the things that have happened in recent years, there is no one with a lock on the city other than the Chicago Bulls. But then again, they don't have to recruit."

Parting shots

Arkansas learned last week that sophomore shooting guard Marlon Towns was transferring, possibly to Memphis. But the Hogs at last got some good news when ballyhooed freshman guard Glendon Alexander was ruled eligible. Alexander's high school transcript had been challenged by the NCAA Eligibility Clearinghouse.