Penny Collins Revival @ TSU

(St. Louis, MO) – The Brian ‘Penny’ Collins announcement was more church revival service than press conference. Collins, a Nashville native stood to the podium and invited the band to play the school fight song and brought everyone to their feet, to clap and celebrate, before he ever spoke a word to the crowd.

 

 

Calling Tennessee State his ‘dream job’, Collins was emotional at times, and enthusiastic the entire time. Having grown up in Nashville and playing at Belmont, he knows what college basketball means, and can mean to Music City.

Collins played at Belmont and his coaching career has taken him on several journeys. He is returning to TSU, where he was a graduate assistant, after several stops along the way. Notably, his most recent assistant coaching positions have been at Eastern Tennessee with head coach Steve Forbes, and Illinois State under coach Dan Muller.

Collins says his success as a player at Belmont, where the Bruins went to postseason play for the first time in program history, while he played there, turned into other opportunities. Several stops later, he started working with Forbes and then Muller, which led him back home to TSU.

 

 

The energetic and confident Collins said his teams have played in their conference tournament championship game for the past five seasons, and he plans on winning at Tennessee State. A highly successful junior college head coaching resume along with working as an assistant in successful Division 1 programs, gives him plenty of reason for that confidence.

Collins says his teams will run, press and he wants to make the Gentry Center a tough place to play. While knowing he has to recruit many places, ‘Penny’ is making Nashville a recruiting priority.

 

 

While noting the past traditions of this HBC, Collins says local Nashville players are going to know they are wanted and he wants to continue to make TSU a respected place to play and succeed.

Collins’ knowledge of the program, the city and the conference will serve him well. He has a healthy affection and respect for the past as well as what he wants to build. ‘Penny’ mentioned the departed Dana Ford (now at Missouri State) several times in the press conference, noting that coach Ford helped the players and the school remember how to win.

The revival fires at TSU seem ready to brightly burn.

 

 

Muller told me that Collins was a high quality coach and a high character man. ‘Penny’ won the press conference and at the end, took off his sport coat, rolled up his sleeves and said ‘it’s time to go to work’ and walked off.

For Brian Collins it’s time to go to work on filling in the details of his dreams job.

Do Good