Hall of Fame
Bobby Collins was a four-year starter for coach Max Good's EKU basketball team from 1984-88. One of Eastern's all-time favorites, he played in 115 games, scored 863 points and hauled in 456 rebounds. Nicknamed "Cat" because of his cat-quick, in-your-face defensive efforts, he also totaled 190 steals for his Colonel career, leading the OVC in steals his senior year with 71. After being named to the league's All-Freshman Team, he finished ninth in the OVC in assists as a sophomore with his 3.0 per game average. As a junior, he was fourth in the conference in steals per game, with season highs of 19 points against Morehead State, 11 rebounds vs. Murray State and 10 assists vs. Wilmington as Eastern went 19-11 overall and advanced to the finals of the OVC Tournament before losing to Austin Peay, 71-68, on a last second shot. His final season in 1987-88, he was chosen honorable mention All-OVC as EKU was 18-10 overall. He led the OVC in steals per game and was 10th in the conference in rebounding, although standing just 6-1. The Eastern Progress named him Male Athlete of the Year for 1987-88. Following his collegiate career, he played in the Helsinki, Finland Classic earning Most Valuable Player honors.
After graduating from Eastern in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and served EKU as an Admissions Counselor from 1992-94. He began his coaching career in 1994-95 as a restricted earnings coach for the Old Dominion Monarchs in a season that saw the Monarchs win the Colonial Athletic Conference and a first round victory over Villanova University in the NCAA Tournament. After that season, he was named Associate Head Coach at Hampton University, a spot he held from 1995-2002, highlighted by one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history when Hampton edged Iowa State, 58-57. He was promoted to head coach at Hampton and served in this capacity from 2002-06. While head coach at Hampton where he compiled an overall record of 65-57, he was Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2004-05 and also chosen Most Outstanding Coach of the MEAC Tourney when the Pirates won the tourney championship.
From 2006-2014, he was the head coach at Winston Salem State University where he went 115-110. His best season with the Rams came in 2012-13 when he was 21-7 and was ranked seventh in the nation, earning WSSU to a second seed in the NCAA Division II tournament. It was the last four years that distinguished him as a premier head coach as he directed the Rams to a 79-35 record. His teams won at least 10 games in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference each of these seasons and twice made NCAA Division II regional tournament appearances. April 8 of this year, he was named head coach of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks, taking his 177-165 head coaching record with him back to the NCAA Division I Mideastern Athletic Conference.
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