UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Near the north side of Illinois State’s basketball arena is a statue of a coach kneeling as a player stands behind him with his hand on the coach’s shoulder. The coach is Will Robinson, the first African American head basketball coach in NCAA Division I history. The player is former Illinois State star guard Doug Collins, who is also a Basketball Hall of Famer.
“They paid to have a statue built in front of our arena at Illinois State,” Collins said at the Hall of Fame news conference at the Mohegan Sun on Saturday. “It was Coach Robinson kneeling down with my hand on his shoulder. And I always tell people, ‘That’s not a basketball story.’ That’s a white kid from Benton, Illinois, being with this Black man from Detroit and them coming together creating a Division I program they could leave.
“It was a love story. My hand on my shoulder, to me, was saying, ‘Coach, I trust you and I believe in you.’ And I think it’s harder and harder to get those relationships these days because a coach’s voice is way down the ladder in terms of who these guys are listening to. He said, ‘Wherever your voice hits a young man’s life will determine how you will be able to help.”
Collins was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday in Springfield, Massachusetts, as a contributor. The former NBA head coach and star guard was previously honored with the Curt Gowdy Media Award for broadcasting excellence. The 2024 Hall of Fame class also included 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, 73, had a 442-407 record as an NBA head coach in 11 seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. He coached NBA legend Michael Jordan early and late in his Hall of Fame career. The four-time NBA All-Star played in the league for eight seasons, averaging 17.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Collins also was the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NBA draft out of Illinois State, a three-time All-American and played on the 1972 Olympic basketball team member. He holds Illinois State records in career scoring (2,240), season scoring (847), career field goals made (894), and season field goals made (352). The floor at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena was renamed “Doug Collins Court” in 2007. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. And 15 years after the statue was unveiled, Collins credited Robinson for much of his success.
“I went to play in college for the first Black coach in Division I basketball, and I grew up in an all-white community and Coach Robinson was from Detroit. Coach Rob, I fell in love with him and he helped me toughness and gave me great wisdom,” Collins said.
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Robinson, who died at age 96 in 2008, was hired by Illinois State in 1970 after Collins’ freshman year. Robinson compiled a 78-51 record as coach of the Redbirds from 1970-75. He also coached Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood at Pershing High School in Detroit and received a lifetime achievement award from the Missouri Valley Conference in 2003. The former Detroit Pistons scout also helped discover guard Joe Dumars and forward Dennis Rodman.
Collins added that Robinson also helped him with gain humility through his success at Illinois State.
“My junior year, the first game of the season, we played Oral Roberts and I scored 40 points in the game,” Collins said. “I always would go to coach’s office to talk. And on this particular day he called me Champ. I don’t know if he ever knew my name or not. So, he called me Champ. He said, ‘Champ, I’m going to show you something.’ He took me down to the bathroom and there was a newspaper and somebody peed all over it. And he said, ‘That’s what this is, day-old news. They will be waiting for you next time.’ I said, ‘I got you, coach. I got you.’ ”
Collins said he had some “really special moments” with Robinson. They weren’t all beautiful as it included watching Robinson endure racism from fans while coaching him at Illinois State.
“We played Arkansas my junior year and we always had to play D-I teams on the road,” Collins said. “They would never come play us at our building. We were trying to become a D-I team and we beat them on the road. It was a really good win. And I was walking off the floor with coach and he had his arm around me and I said, ‘Coach, that’s a great win.’ ‘Yes, champ.’ And then I said to him, ‘Coach, how do you take all that heckling and the things that are being said about you?’ And he said, ‘Champ, those people are ignorant. They don’t know one of these days [Arkansas is] going to have a Black coach.’
“And so, now you go to 1994 and its Duke vs. Arkansas in the NCAA championship game. And my son is playing for Duke and Arkansas wins on a Scotty Thurman 3 [-pointer]. And not only was [Robinson] a visionary that they were going to have a Black coach at one time, but that guy [Nolan Richardson] led them to a national championship.”
