Southern Illinois basketball is one of the most historic regions when it comes to basketball. To this day, legends from the past still hold a strong legacy within the community in which they grew up. Most of Southern Illinois is rural farming areas, so honoring sports icons throughout your area is a must. One player who had an incredible basketball career, putting Benton basketball on the map, is Benton legend Doug Collins.
Like another Southern Illinois superstar, Doug Collins had an incredible playing and coaching career. I recently wrote an article about a similar superstar from Southern Illinois named Jerry Sloan (read the article). Collins has a similar story, and his legacy remains in Benton, Illinois.
Let’s dive into the Hall-of-Fame career of Benton legend Doug Collins.
*Research is from McLean County Museum of History and Sports Reference.
The Benton Ranger
Collins was born in Christopher, Illinois, just a few miles from where he would eventually grow up throughout his childhood in Benton, Illinois. He played under one of the best high school coaches ever, Rich Herrin. Collins had an incredible growth spurt before his senior year, and this would take his game to the next level. The Benton legend averages 25 PPG.
Benton legend Doug Collins would have a great career with the Benton Rangers before deciding to take his talents to Illinois State University, where he would become one of the school’s best players ever.
Redbird Royalty
Doug Collins would continue his dominance in basketball when he took his talent to Illinois State University. He started his college career there in 1970 and would play until 1973. Collins became the program’s all-time leading scorer, was a consensus All-American in 1973, and he averaged an astounding 29.1 PPG in his three seasons.
Collin’s career at Illinois State is remembered to this date. He is the only basketball player in the program’s history to have his jersey retired.
Benton legend Doug Collins was also making a name for himself outside of college basketball. The shooting guard represented the United States at the Olympics in 1972, where Team USA won a silver medal.
After an incredible Illinois State career as well as participating in the Olympics, Collins was a for sure first-round pick in the 1973 NBA Draft
The Philly Star
Shooting guard Doug Collins was drafted No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers, and he would continue his incredible play. Collins would carve out a great NBA career, but his career would be derailed by constant injuries. Collins played just eight seasons of NBA basketball and played with the Philadelphia 76ers the entire time.
During his NBA career, Collins averaged nearly 17.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.3 APG. Collins and the 76ers made their way to the NBA Finals in the 1976-77 season, where they ultimately lost to the Portland Trailblazers.
Collins ended his career becoming a 4x NBA All-Star and would end his basketball playing days becoming one of the best basketball players of his time. Benton legend Doug Collins had an incredible playing career, throughout high school, college, and in the NBA. However, he would continue to build his legacy after his playing days were over.
Coaching the Greats
After retiring from the NBA, Collins would soon begin his long coaching career. He started as an assistant at Penn before going for the same position at Arizona State University. Collins would not become a head coach until 1986, when he would become the head coach of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He would find success in Chicago, leading them to their first 50-win season and their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 15 years.
He would coach there until 1989 and would not earn another head coaching job until 1995 with the Detroit Pistons. Collins had similar success with Detroit, helping turn the franchise around, having a season of 54 wins.
After stints in Washington and Philadelphia, Collins’ coaching career came to an end. He never won an NBA Championship, but he was able to turn around franchise’s who were used to losing. Collins would end his coaching career with a record of 440-370 and was 33-37 in the postseason.
The Voice & The Hall
Even after coaching, Collins’ basketball days were far from over. He became a very successful TV analyst for multiple TV stations. TNT and NBC were the most prominent of the group, and he would go on to achieve great success in the broadcasting industry. Along with being an advisor for the Chicago Bulls, Collins’ post-coaching career turned out to be better than he may have expected.
Benton legend Doug Collins was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2024. Collins had an incredible college career and is still the only Illinois State Redbird to have their jersey retired. He became the No. 1 overall pick and became a multi-NBA All-Star. Collins would go on to have a great coaching career and broadcasting career that would help catapult him into the Hall of Fame.
Doug Collins is another incredible legend from Southern Illinois and will always be remembered. His legacy lives on throughout the heart of Southern Illinois, and instead of just being known as Doug Collins, he will always be remembered as the Benton legend, Doug Collins.
