HBCU men’s basketball coach resigns to take NBA job

Tennessee State College head males’s basketball coach Brian “Penny” Collins has stepped down, efficient instantly, to simply accept a training place within the NBA.

Assistant coach Erik Buggs will function interim head coach through the transition.

The place Collins will likely be teaching has not been disclosed.

Collins’ departure marks the tip of a seven-year tenure that helped rebuild, reshape, and restore the custom of excellence in TSU males’s basketball.

Below his management, the Tigers made constant strides, culminating in a semifinal look in final season’s Ohio Valley Convention Match and ending with a 17-16 general document.

“On behalf of Tennessee State College, I want Coach Collins and his household the perfect as they start this thrilling new chapter,” stated Director of Athletics Dr. Mikki Allen. “We’re proud to congratulate Coach Collins on this vital alternative, which displays the significant work he has finished right here over the previous seven years.”

“Coach Collins constructed a family-oriented tradition and a aggressive program that earned the respect of our convention and the broader basketball neighborhood. His affect on our student-athletes and the Tennessee State College household has been profound. His ardour and unwavering dedication to creating younger males and offering a first-class expertise have been actually invaluable.”

Buggs joined TSU final season after spending three years at UT Martin, the place he was instrumental within the Skyhawks’ 24-win marketing campaign and Ohio Valley Convention common season title in 2022-23.

“I lengthen my honest gratitude to Coach Collins for his management and for guiding our student-athletes with integrity and goal,” stated Interim President Dwayne Tucker. “He has performed a key position in bringing our males’s basketball program again to a aggressive standing within the OVC.”

Courtesy: Tennessee State Athletics