The Sixers officially announced Doug Collins as the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers this afternoon at the Wachovia Center. GM Ed Stefanski said they found the guy they wanted, a guy who is "a teacher, a motivator, and a manager."
Collins seemed genuinely excited to be back in the city that his NBA career started in, saying it's "so good to be home again."
One of the more popular criticisms of the Sixers selection of Collins was that he's too old and likely out of touch with the young kids playing the game today.
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"Trust me. I'm in touch with the modern day player," Collins said of those criticisms.
Stefanski believes that Collins' passion for the game will give his players "the extra that they need." The extra what? We're not sure.
"I learned to grow up here," Collins said. "A lot of people say 'why would you want to do this?' My answer is, 'Why not?'"
I believe that was a rhetorical question.
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One of the things that Collins said that did stand out to me was in terms of his preparation as a TV analyst. Collins said that he prepared as if he were coaching two teams each night before he called a game on TV. Whether you believe him or not, Collins appears to have a tremendous knowledge of the state of the league and what exactly it takes to win.
He did a fairly decent job avoiding questions that were unsafe to answer, but that was of course kinda frustrating. For instance, he leaned on his experience as an analyst in knowing the teams inside and out, then when asked about the degree to which the team will be kept intact, he said he had to get into the gym with the players.
Doug Collins is also not Eddie Jordan. That point alone is quite refreshing. Also, Eddie Jordan is the exact opposite of a tough act to follow, so Collins has that going for him.
"The bigger the challenge, the more it excites me," Collins said of his new gig in Philly.
As Sixers fans who watched this team last season know too well, he'll certainly have a challenge in front of him.