Brian Collins (basketball)
American basketball player and coach (born 1984)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brian Erick Collins[1] (born March 23, 1984) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was previously the head coach at Tennessee State University.[2][3]
| Memphis Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
| Title | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 23, 1984 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Belmont (2002–2006) |
| NBA draft | 2006: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2006–2007 |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career | 2007–present |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 2006 | Bakersfield Jam |
| 2007 | Kouvot |
Coaching | |
| 2007–2009 | Tennessee State (assistant) |
| 2009–2012 | Cumberland (assistant) |
| 2012–2015 | Columbia State CC |
| 2015–2017 | East Tennessee State (assistant) |
| 2017–2018 | Illinois State (assistant) |
| 2018–2025 | Tennessee State |
| 2025-present | Memphis Grizzlies (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
As coach:
| |
Playing career
A Nashville native, Collins was a four-year starter at hometown Belmont under Rick Byrd, and was the captain of the Bruins first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level in 2006. He scored 1,199 points in his career, and left the school as the all-time leader in assists and steals at the Division I level.[3][4]
After graduation, Collins played professional basketball between 2006 and 2007 with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL and Kouvot in Finland.[5]
Coaching career
In 2007, Collins began his coaching career serving as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations at Tennessee State until 2009, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at NAIA institution Cumberland.[3]
Collins landed his first head coaching job, taking the reins of Columbia State where he took over a team that went 10–17 in his first year, but compiled a 54–11 overall record in his final two seasons and led the team to two-straight NCJAA national tournament appearances.[6][7][8] After the 2015 season, Collins joined the staff at ETSU for two seasons before spending one season at Illinois St. as an assistant coach.[9][10]
Collins was named head coach of Tennessee State University in 2018, leading a turnaround of the program during his seven-year tenure. He became the only coach in the Division I era at TSU to record three consecutive 18-win and finished as the second-winningest coach in program history.
In 2020, Collins was named BOXTOROW National Coach of the Year and was also a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award in 2020 and 2025. His program emphasized player development and academic success, producing over 30 professional players and achieving a 100% graduation rate during his tenure.
Collins increased the program’s national visibility, hosting Tennessee State’s first NBA Pro Day in his second season, which drew scouts from more than 15 teams from the National Basketball Association. That same year, TSU recorded the largest increase in attendance in Division I basketball, along with record-setting season ticket sales.
In his fourth season, Collins founded the “Deserve 2 Win” Celebrity Weekend, a fundraising initiative that generated the highest revenue in program history and contributed to facility enhancements.
On June 30, 2025, Tennessee State announced that Collins had stepped down for a coaching role in the NBA. His move was described as a historic and rare transition, as it involved a sitting HBCU head coach moving directly to an NBA coaching staff. [11] Collins then accepted a position as an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies.[12]
Head coaching record
NJCAA
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia State () (2012–2015) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Columbia State | 10–17 * | 7–11 * | N/A | |||||
| 2013–14 | Columbia State | 28–4 | 17–1 | N/A | ELITE 8 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Columbia State | 26–7 | 14–4 | N/A | SWEET 16 | ||||
| Columbia State: | 64–28 (.696) | 38–16 (.704) | |||||||
| Total: | 64–28 (.696) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
NCAA DI
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee State (Ohio Valley) (2018–2025) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Tennessee State | 9–21 | 6–12 | T-8th | |||||
| 2019–20 | Tennessee State | 18–15 | 9–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Tennessee State | 4–19 | 3–17 | 12th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Tennessee State | 14–18 | 8–10 | T–5th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Tennessee State | 18–14 | 10–8 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2023–24 | Tennessee State | 18–15 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| 2024–25 | Tennessee State | 17–16 | 12–8 | T–3rd | |||||
| Tennessee State: | 98–118 (.454) | 58–72 (.446) | |||||||
| Total: | 98–118 (.454) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
