The 2016 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees have been announced and Illinois State University men’s basketball great Doug Collins is among the honorees.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today (3/22) the eight inductees who will be recognized April 2 during the upcoming NCAA Tournament Final Four, and Doug Collins’ name was on that list.
The three-year ISU Redbirds varsity played amassed 2,240 career points for an average of 29.1 points per game. Doug was also named both an All-American and Academic All-American after each season.
Following his college career Doug went on to represent the United States in the 1972 Olympics prior to being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NBA Draft.
During his NBA career Doug become a four-time NBA All-Star with the 76ers and, after retiring, began a multi-decade NBA coaching career and successful turn as an NBA analyst on ESPN.
Doug is already an Illinois State Athletics Percy Hall of Fame member. His #20 jersey was retired after his final game in 1973 and to date is the only Redbird men’s basketball play to have been honored in this manner.
February 3, 2007 another honor was bestowed on this legendary ISU athlete as Redbird Arena was re-named “Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.”
Along with Doug the 2016 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees include DePaul’s Mark Aguirre, Kansas State’s Bob Boozer, La Salle’s Lionel Simmons, UCLA’s Jamaal Wilkes and Georgia’s Dominque Wilkins as well as multi-school coaching legends Hugh Durham and Mike Montgomery.
Read to complete press release at GoRedbirds.com.
Congratulations to ISU Redbirds great Doug Collins on being inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame!
By: Buck Stevens
