UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Men's Basketball Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry announced the hiring of David "Aki" Collins (pronounced AH-kee) as an assistant coach on his staff. Collins brings more than 20 years of coaching experience and a reputation as top recruiter to Penn State. After five seasons with the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder as an amateur scout, Collins returned to the college environment for 2020-21 as the director of basketball operations at New Mexico and moves back to the bench for the Nittany Lions.
"From the time we first worked together at Marshall, Aki is someone who I have watched, studied and learned from," said Shrewsberry. "I continued to follow his career and his successful stops at all levels of basketball and those experiences will be very valuable to our program. He fits the culture and values we are working to establish here at Penn State. Aki is a tireless recruiter with connections all over the country, which we'll utilize to bring in talented student-athletes. I'm excited to add Aki and his family to our Penn State Basketball family!"
"I am truly honored and blessed to receive this opportunity from Coach Shrewsberry," said Collins. "We have coached each other's teams from our living rooms and offices. Some of our major career decisions have been hashed out over the phone, at dinner or via text. His character, family values and basketball knowledge, made this an easy decision for me and my family. I am happy for him and honored that he placed his trust in me. I look forward to getting to Happy Valley and getting to work."
The Shrewsberry-Collins connection dates back to 2003 when the two worked together at Marshall. Collins' tenure as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Thundering Herd overlapped for two years with Shrewsberry's role as Marshall's director of operations.
With the Oklahoma City Thunder organization from 2015-20, Collins was an amateur evaluation scout with responsibilities for identification and intelligence for his final three seasons. His first two seasons as an amateur scout included evaluation of collegiate and NBA players in the southeast region of the United States, as well as professional international prospects.
Three seasons at Memphis (2012-15) and four at Marquette (2008-12) as an assistant coach primed Collins for his opportunity to evaluate talent in the NBA.
The impact of Collins' coaching and recruiting expertise during his time at Memphis helped the Tigers to a 31-5 record and a perfect 16-0 mark as Conference USA's regular-season and tournament champions in 2012-13. The following year, the Tigers defeated five Top 25 teams en route to 24 total victories on the season. For the second-straight year, Memphis picked up a win in the NCAA Tournament.
Collins was a key part in the Tigers' recruiting process that reeled in a consensus top-five ranked class in 2013. ESPN.com listed Memphis with the second-best class in the nation that year with Rivals.com and Scout giving it a No. 3 ranking.
Building his reputation as an elite-level recruiter and on-court tactician, Collins was a top target in 2008 for then-Marquette coach Buzz Williams.
Collins' efforts at Marquette under Williams were instrumental to the program's success both on the court and in recruiting talent. The Golden Eagles recorded four-straight 20-win seasons and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament from 2008-12, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The 27 victories in 2011-12 tied the program's second-highest win total and a 14-4 Big East record gave the Golden Eagles a second-place finish in the league, their highest finish in program history.
Marquette signed numerous ESPN top 100 prospects during Collins' stint in Milwaukee and the 2008-09 class earned top-20 recognition from ESPN (No. 14), Rivals (No. 17) and Scout.com (No. 18). Collins and the Golden Eagles' staff brought in another powerhouse class in 2009-10 with top-25 plaudits from Rivals (No. 13), ESPN (No. 18) and Scout.com (No. 25).
Collins started his full-time coaching career at Colorado in 1997, helping the Buffaloes to back-to-back National Invitation Tournament (NIT) bids in 1999 and 2000. He spent three seasons at Howard University (2000-03) as an assistant coach, tutoring a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year, and two MEAC Player of the Year candidates, before joining Marshall in the same role from 2003-06. His résumé also includes two years at Fairfield as an assistant coach.
An advocate and entrepreneur at heart, Collins established two businesses, a real estate company and basketball development program. Collins has also volunteered his time with various organizations in the communities in which he has lived, and while with Memphis, served as a clinician for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) YES Clinics in Atlanta and Dallas. As an undergraduate student, he worked as an assistant site director for four years for the Citi-Wide Athletic Association and as an assistant director for Nike Spike Lee Basketball Camp.
Collins earned his bachelor's degree in communications from Clark Atlanta University in 1997 and worked with the basketball team as the head student manager after an injury sidelined his collegiate playing career. The Brooklyn, New York, product is currently pursuing a master's degree in athletic leadership from Rider University.
