In less than a decade Damian Lillard has become the greatest NBA player in Weber State history: 2013 ROY, a 5-time All-Star, and 1 of the top-20 3-PT shooters in league history. However, when it comes to the greatest college player in Weber State history the edge goes to Bruce Collins. He graduated in 1980 as the all-time leading scorer in Big Sky history with 2019 PTS, was a 3-time all-conference 1st-team player, and was a 3-time conference tourney MVP. He later played pro basketball overseas for several years and in 2014 was named the 44th-best athlete in Big Sky history. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bruce about making 3 straight NCAA tourneys and being a great scorer. Today marks the 5th anniversary of the Wildcats retiring Bruce’s #22 jersey in 2016.
Why did you decide to go to Weber State? I am from Wyoming but the Cowboys never recruited me. Weber was only 2½ hours away so my folks could come watch me, and I also liked the school colors (purple and white).
From 1978-1980 you became the only Big Sky player to ever win 3 conference tourney MVP awards: how were you able to dominate when it mattered the most? I am not sure if I “dominated” but my teammates got me the ball and set good picks. My sophomore year we played against Montana and Micheal Ray Richardson and we were able to beat them on a last-second shot.
You were also a 3-time 1st-team All-Big Sky performer: how were you able to remain so consistent throughout your college career? I would practice a lot during the summers. I did not have to worry about long-range shooting because there was no 3-PT line back then.
What are your memories of the 1978 NCAA tourney (you scored 15 PTS on 5-15 FG in a loss to Arkansas (Sidney Moncrief had 16 PTS)? It was the worst game I ever played: I missed a lot of shots from the field. I kept coming off picks but could not get a good look because they kept rotating on defense.
Take me through the 1979 NCAA tourney:
You scored 15 PTS in a 3-PT OT win over New Mexico State: what did you learn from the 1978 tourney that helped you maintain your composure in 1979? I rushed a lot of shots the previous year so I just learned to be patient. We had good practices all week long and once we got the lead we just played our game.
You scored 2 PTS on 1-5 FG in a loss to Arkansas (Moncrief had 19 PTS): was it just a case of Arkansas having a better team than you, and could you tell at the time that Moncrief was going to become a star? They were a lot better than we were. I remember 1 play where Moncrief jumped up and his knee was at my forehead! They had a 7-footer in Steve Schall and a bunch of guys who played good defense.
How big a deal was college basketball in the state of Utah at this time with guys like Danny Ainge at BYU and Danny Vranes at Utah? It was pretty big: Utah State was also starting to come around back then. Even without a 3-PT line Ainge could score 35 PPG as he used the backboard, rim, and whatever else he could: he was just a scorer.
In the 1980 NCAA tourney you played 40 minutes and had 32 PTS/11 REB in a 1-PT home loss to Lamar (Mike Olliver also played 40 minutes and had 37 PTS/17-26 FG): how close did you come to overcoming a 22-PT 2nd half deficit? We just fell behind too far in the 1st half and could not come back to take the lead. We were a little overconfident because we were playing at home and we put too much pressure on ourselves.
You finished your career as the all-time leading scorer in conference history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I knew that I was a good player but never thought that I was a great player. We seldom went 1-on-1: I got most of my PTS on steals and by coming off of picks.
In the summer of 1980 you were drafted in the 2nd round by Portland (2 spots ahead of Rick Mahorn), but did not end up playing in the NBA: did you see that as a success because you got drafted, or a failure because you did not make the team, or something in between? It was great to get drafted. I thought that I should have made the team but felt bad after being the last player cut only 1 week before the start of the season. I think I just went to the wrong team because Portland had so many guards (Jim Paxson/Kelvin Ransey/Billy Ray Bates/etc.), so I went overseas for 3 years.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I would like to be remembered as a team player as my team helped me score all of my PTS. I was a team player ever since junior high school and continued to do so throughout my career.