What is Jimmy Collins (basketball)?
'''James Earl Collins''' (November 24, 1946 – December 13, 2020) was an American [[basketball]] player and coach. He was born and raised in [[Syracuse, New York]]. He played for the [[Chicago Bulls]] from 1970 to 1972. Collins was the head coach of the [[UIC Flames men's basketball|men's basketball team]] at the [[University of Illinois at Chicago]] from 1996 to 2010. He helped push the team to the [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA Tournament]] in 1998, 2002 and 2004, and an [[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]] showing in 2003.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n22_v89/ai_18190382 Jimmy Collins accepts head coaching job at University of illinois-Chicago] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212052534/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n22_v89/ai_18190382 |date=2007-02-12 }}, April 15, 1996</ref> Collins died on December 13, 2020 from [[heart]] [[surgery]]-related problems in [[Chicago]] at the age of 74.<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-jimmy-collins-uic-basketball-coach-dies-20201213-ccyjgchllzdp7eskrxxqpppadi-story.html Jimmy Collins, the longtime Illinois assistant who later coached Illinois-Chicago to 3 NCAA Tournaments in 14 seasons, dies at 74]</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Jimmy}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:2020 deaths]] [[Category:Chicago Bulls players]] [[Category:College basketball coaches]] [[Category:Sportspeople from Syracuse, New York]] [[Category:Deaths from surgical complications]] {{sports-bio-stub}}