Penny Has Historic Hopes TSU

(St. Louis, MO) – Brian Collins wants to make history at Tennessee State University. He is a unique blend of young and old. ‘Penny’ as he’s called by virtually everyone, has a deep appreciation for TSU traditions and at 34 years of age, he wants the Tigers to play a modern, up tempo, fast-paced style of basketball.

In a recent interview, we touched on a wide range of basketball and personal topics. We talked aobut everything from how he received the ‘Penny’ moniker to why his son is named ‘History’. We talked about current players, his future staff and what he loves about TSU. What always comes out of Collins is his love of basketball and Nashville, Tennessee.

First – The Name

The irony of ‘Penny’ Hardaway being named the head coach at Memphis and ‘Penny’ Collins landing the TSU job during the same off season wasn’t lost on me, so I asked Collins how he received the name.

He said, while he was growing up, Hardaway was his favorite basketball player.

“When I was younger and playing in pick up games, I always wore my Penny Hardaway jersey,” said Collins. “He was my favorite player. I was always Penny Hardaway when I played video games. He was my Michael Jordan. My best friend was also named Brian, so people started calling me ‘Little Penny’ and as I became a pretty good player, the name just stuck.”

Collins says they’ve become friends and after their competitive careers were over they have even played in some men’s leagues together. He’s excited that they each landed ‘dream jobs’ at the same time.

“It is ironic,” he says. “They hired Penny and he goes back home and then the same thing for me getting hired at Tennessee State and getting to go back home. I’ve always dreamed of being the coach of Tennessee State and then also to get to know my role model and idol growing up is special.”

Second – What Kind of Personality

In our previous story about Collins’ press conference (Penny Collins Revival @ TSU) we stated the press conference was anything but formal. Collins says he just wanted to be himself and not to try to follow some typical script.

The band played the fight song (twice), Collins led a couple of songs and the smile never left his face as he talked about the wonderful and lively TSU traditions.

“I felt like I was ‘home’ and I just wanted to be myself,” he replied. “I didn’t have to put on some professional mask. I’m going to have high energy.  We’re going to have fun. All the traditional stuff I did, that’s what I grew up watching at TSU!”

His Background and Style

While working in several programs (including TSU) Collins has been a junior college head coach and assisted a number of different head coaches, all with their own style and approach.

Most recently, he worked at Illinois State. Redbird head coach Dan Muller told me Penny is ready to become a head coach. Collins and outgoing coach Ford both worked for Muller, so I asked the energetic Collins what he learned in Normal, Illinois.

He volunteers that Muller taught him about how ‘the little things’ add up.

“It was really, really good for me. Dan really sharpened me as a coach,” he said. “He taught me so much about the details. Making the little things very important and then they add up. He showed me things about developing a winning culture and doing things the right way.”

He and Ford both worked for Muller, but considers himself more of an offensive coach, and Ford more of a defensive-minded leader, but he said both he and the current Missouri State coach have a passion for the game and their players.

“We both eat, sleep and drink recruiting. I wake up thinking about recruiting and I go to sleep thinking about recruiting,” mused Collins. “We both have a love and a passion for the kids and making them better people. He has a lot of core values that we share as far as the way you treat people and doing things the right way. A lot of the things I talked to our players about, they already knew, because Dana had done a good job with them (about their shared values).”

His Current Team & Staff

Penny is in full evaluation mode. He’s getting to know his current Tigers so that he knows what kinds of players they need to recruit. He is looking to hire a coaching staff of men ‘that are used to winning.’

He says he’s excited about how far along the players are. He’s learning who can play fast and who can’t, who can respond in pressure situations and finding out what they can and can’t do. But make no mistake, he wants his team to play fast.

“We will push the pace and do a lot of read and react,” said Collins. “We want them to play with confidence. We’ll teach them about what I think is a good shot. We want to play a little like Villanova and like Loyola, where guys to get to the paint, have guys chasing us and kick and kick and pass up a good shot to find a great shot.”

Finally – His Son named ‘History’

I couldn’t help but ask about his son History’s name. The first-year coach says it all stemmed from a Jay-Z  song by that title.

“When I was younger (in college) Jay-Z’s song ‘History’ came and out basically Jay-Z was saying he wanted his son to repeat after him and make history and be a better person than him.”

Collins says Jay-Z was actually speaking metaphorically about his music, but Penny started thinking about naming a future son History. When he played basketball video games, he would create a left-handed basketball player named History Collins.

When he got married and eventually he and Lakeya were blessed with a baby boy, he broached the subject of naming him History. Lakeya loved the idea, and you guessed it, History IS LEFT-HANDED!

Penny Collins loves to look back at TSU history, and something of his own history has shaped his current reality and future destiny. The TSU traditions concerning the atmosphere, the energy and celebrations surrounding Tigers’ basketball truly matter to him.

Often he talks about how this is his ‘dream job’ and how that is a selling point in the crowded Nashville basketball market. Vanderbilt, Belmont and Lipscomb are all right in Nashville. Several other prominent Division 1 programs dot the state as well, but unfazed, Penny is energetic and optimistic about what can be accomplished.

While Hardaway is working in Memphis and Collins in Nashville, Tennessee could see a lot of basketball history made by a pair of Pennys.

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