Brian Collins (basketball)

Brian Collins

Memphis Grizzlies
Position	Assistant coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1984-03-23) March 23, 1984 (age 41) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Career information
College	Belmont (2002–2006)
Playing career	2006–2007
Coaching career	2007–present
Career history
Playing
2006	Bakersfield Jam
2007	Kouvot
Coaching
2007–2009	Tennessee State (asst.)
2009–2012	Cumberland (asst.)
2012–2015	Columbia State CC
2015–2017	East Tennessee State (asst.)
2017–2018	Illinois State (asst.)
2018–2025	Tennessee State
2025-present	Memphis Grizzlies (asst.)
Career highlights
As coach: 2013–14 Region 7 Coach of the Year 2014–15 NJCAA District 7 Coach of the Year 2019–20 BOXTOROW Coach of the Year 2024-25 Ben Jobe Award Finalist

Brian "Penny" Collins is an American basketball coach who is currently working as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. He was previously the head coach at Tennessee State University. ^{[1] [2]}

Playing career

A Nashville native, Collins was a four-year starter at hometown Belmont under Rick Byrd, and was the captain of the Bruins first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level in 2006. He scored 1,199 points in his career, and left the school as the all-time leader in assists and steals at the Division I level. ^{[2] [3]}

After graduation, Collins played professional basketball between 2006 and 2007 with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL and Kouvot in Finland. ^[4]

Coaching career

In 2007, Collins began his coaching career serving as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations at Tennessee State until 2009, when he accepted an assistant coaching position at NAIA institution Cumberland. ^[2]

Collins landed his first head coaching job, taking the reins of Columbia State where he took over a team that went 10–17 in his first year, but compiled a 54–11 overall record in his final two seasons and led the team to two-straight NCJAA national tournament appearances. ^{[5] [6] [7]} After the 2015 season, Collins joined the staff at ETSU for two seasons before spending one season at Illinois St. as an assistant coach. ^{[8] [9]}

On March 26, 2018, Collins was named the 21st head coach in Tennessee State history, replacing Dana Ford, who accepted the head coaching position at Missouri State. ^[2]

On June 30, 2025, Tennessee State announced that Collins had stepped down for a coaching role in the NBA. ^[10] Collins then accepted a position as an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies. ^[11]

Head coaching record

NJCAA

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Columbia State ()(2012–2015)
2012–13	Columbia State	10–17 *	7–11 *	N/A
2013–14	Columbia State	28–4	17–1	N/A	ELITE 8
2014–15	Columbia State	26–7	14–4	N/A	SWEET 16
Columbia State:		64–28 (.696)	38–16 (.704)
Total:		64–28 (.696)
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

NCAA DI

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Tennessee State (Ohio Valley)(2018–2025)
2018–19	Tennessee State	9–21	6–12	T-8th
2019–20	Tennessee State	18–15	9–9	T–5th
2020–21	Tennessee State	4–19	3–17	12th
2021–22	Tennessee State	14–18	8–10	T–5th
2022–23	Tennessee State	18–14	10–8	T–3rd
2023–24	Tennessee State	18–15	10–8	5th
2024–25	Tennessee State	17–16	12–8	T–3rd
Tennessee State:		98–118 (.454)	58–72 (.446)
Total:		98–118 (.454)
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

1. "Tennessee State basketball coach Brian 'Penny' Collins signs 5-year, $1 million deal". The Tennessean .
2. Streamline Technologies, Nashville, TN. "Brian 'Penny' Collins Named Tennessee State University Head Men's Basketball Coach".
3. "Brian Collins College Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
4. "2006-07 Bakersfield Jam Stats - Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com.
5. "Columbia State Season Box Score". njcaa.org.
6. "Columbia State Season Box Score". njcaa.org.
7. "Columbia State Season Box Score". njcaa.org.
8. "Collins Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach". Illinois State University.
9. Streamline Technologies, Nashville, TN. "Brian Collins – Men's Basketball Coaches – Official Site of East Tennessee State Athletics". ETSUBucs.com.
10. "Men's Basketball Coach Brian "Penny" Collins Resigns for NBA Job". Tennessee State University. June 30, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
11. > "TSU basketball coach resigns to accept assistant position with the Memphis Grizzlies". NewsChannel15. July 15, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.