Doug Collins on return to coaching: 'I'm a teacher'

By K.C. Johnson

Doug Collins is a heart-on-his-sleeve competitor, and the Bulls came very close to hiring him in 2008 before settling on Vinny Del Negro.

Now the 76ers coach, Collins needed just three words to describe why he left broadcasting and returned to coaching.

"I'm a teacher," he said.

But Collins being Collins, many honest and genuine words followed.

"I knew I was always going to do it again," Collins said. "My wife and family knew that. There were two cities that I thought about: Chicago and Philadelphia and it was all family-related. I lived here 10 years. My kids graduated from Glenbrook North. They loved it here. My son was Mr. Basketball. I played at Illinois State. My boyhood idol growing up was Jerry Sloan.

"A lot of people don't realize that on draft day I was actually traded to the Bulls, the trade fell through and I ended up playing for the 76ers, which then became another 10 great years of my life to start a family and raise our kids there. If I was going to do it again, it was going to be at a place where my wife was going to be very happy.

"In Philadelphia, she's at my daughter's house four to five days a week. It's very happy. We're one hour away from (son) Chris down at Raleigh Durham and Duke. I wanted to go to a team that I thought had young pieces. I've been sort of a builder. That's who I've been in my career. I've never been the one left standing at the end with the ring. But I've always tried to leave places better for my being there."

Collins served as an unofficial sounding board for vice president of basketball operations John Paxson even before Paxson almost hired him in 2008. So he knows the Bulls' roster well.

"Healthy, they're great," Collins said. "Even beat up, as long as you got Derrick Rose on your team, you got a chance. Just watching that guy play, he is a tremendous player. You got Boozer now back. I think Luol Deng is playing as well as he has played. You get Joakim Noah back. You get Taj Gibson coming off the bench, Korver coming off the bench.

"They're a very good defensive team. Tom Thibodeau builds teams with defense. They've got size. They get everybody healthy and I think they have a chance in the playoffs to do something very, very good."

Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/12/doug-collins-im-a-teacher.html

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