Read about Jerrance Howard's case for UIC here

EACH WEEK, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT A MEMORABLE MOMENT IN ILLINI HISTORY, THANKS TO THE WORDS OF THE NEWS-GAZETTE

This week: Illinois-Chicago, which is interested in Illini assistant Jerrance Howard for its  basketball coaching opening, took that route once before. The Flames hired Jimmy Collins in 1996 after Collins was spurned in favor of Lon Kruger at Illinois.

Headline: Collins gets his chance

Date: March 27, 1996

By JIM ROSSOW

CHICAGO – That University of Illinois-Chicago baseball cap athletic director Jim Schmidt gave him to wear was a bit loose. But, for Jimmy Collins, everything else was a perfect fit on the first day of his new job.

Collins this morning was introduced as UIC's new basketball coach, addressing a mostly familiar crowd that included his wife, four children, a sister, a niece, a handful of UIC players and a few Chicago area high school coaches. Even Illinois sophomore Bryant Notree dropped by the UIC Pavilion for the show, a homecoming of sorts which featured a light mood and a lot of laughs.

"The opportunity to coach here in Chicago .. the city I love so much .. is like a dream come true for me," said the 48-year- old Collins, who agreed to a five-year deal with UIC on Tuesday. "I was virtually overwhelmed with this particular opportunity."

Today's announcement capped a frenetic seven-day run for Collins, who last Wednesday was told Lon Kruger was the choice to replace retiring Lou Henson at Illinois.

Last Friday, then-UIC coach Bob Hallberg was reassigned, creating an opening designed for Collins, who worked quickly with Schmidt to hammer out a deal.

For Collins, a 13-year assistant at Illinois, the UIC job is his first as a head coach at the college level.

"I wanted to become a head coach," he said. "I feel I'm a head coach.

"Now, I'm not going to say I'm the answer to the problems in the world. This takes time."

Also on hand today was longtime UI assistant Dick Nagy, who is expected to join Collins at UIC.

"I've always admired Jimmy," Nagy said. "I've admired him as a coach and I trust him, and that's all you can ask. This can be an exciting thing."

After the hourlong press conference, Collins introduced himself to UIC players, who huddled in the stands with their new coach. The Flames finished 10-18 last season and have never advanced to postseason play.

Not yet.

"I can't eat, I can't sleep, I'm so excited," said UIC returning starter David Greer. "Ever since I heard Jimmy Collins was going to be the head coach, I've been thinking about what's going to happen here. This program's going to the next level."

As Notree listened on, Collins reiterated that he does not want any current Illinois players who he recruited to Champaign to follow him north. He first told the players to stay put last week in a private meeting at the UI.

"Once you start quitting, it's easier to quit the next time," Collins said. "I encouraged all of them to stay."

Collins was introduced by Schmidt and two members of the UI's Board of Trustees, Gloria Jackson Bacon and Susan Gravenhorst.

Said Schmidt: "We know Jimmy Collins will be an excellent fit at (UIC) and will continue a program that has made progress. He'll be a goodwill ambassador."

Said Gravenhorst: "I'll warn you all that these will be exciting times at the UIC Pavilion. Go Flames."

As an assistant at Illinois, Collins formed strong recruiting ties in the Chicago area. He said he will continue to tap the Public League, but will look elsewhere, too.

"I look to go abroad," Collins said. "There are bridges I want to keep, but I want to extend some, too."

Several Public League coaches said they'd boycott sending players to Illinois should Collins not replace Henson. Collins today said he was disappointed about the UI's decision to tab Kruger, but urged high school coaches not to ignore the UI.

"I have nothing negative to say about what happened down there," Collins said.

With Nagy and Wabash Valley's Mark Coomes expected to fill out the UIC staff, Collins said the Flames would sport a Henson look, but with a less conservative twist.

"He's Coach Henson, I'm Jimmy Collins," he said. "Our styles are going to be a little different.

"I'm a little more wide open. That's not to say the (players) can throw the ball around the back for their girlfriend."

Collins said he's weighed several coaching options the last five years, but none as attractive as UIC, which has made a substantial financial effort to improve its program.

"The thing you can't do is to just jump on anything that comes along," Collins said. "That first ride, you don't want to go into a situation where there's no opportunity to be successful."