Rock Springs resident and Weber State basketball legend Bruce Collins says he has never forgotten where he came from and the people who have helped him along the way.
Collins was born and raised in Rock Springs, Wyoming and has only spent seven years of his life away from the hometown he loves—all seven of those years were spent playing basketball.
Collins graduated from Rock Springs High School in 1976. He went on to play four years of basketball at Weber State University as a guard and three years in Asia before returning to Rock Springs. Within one year of his return, Collins began helping children learn about the sport he loves.
Collins currently works as the gym supervisor at Family Recreation Center in Rock Springs. He gives back to the community by inspiring children of all ages as a coach for Junior Jazz Basketball and in several basketball camps each year.
A stand-out athlete at Weber State, he will become the second Weber State men’s basketball player to have his jersey retired. His jersey, number 22, will be officially retired during Weber State’s home game on Feb. 13, 2016 against Portland State.
GROWING UP
Collins started playing basketball in church league as a kid. He says those days can never be forgotten and had a huge impact on how he played the game.
“What we learned in church league was fundamentals and sportsmanship. That was the number one thing they stressed—fundamentals and sportsmanship,” said Collins. “You shook their hand before the game. You shook their hand after the game. It wasn’t about wins and losses. It was about everybody being on the same page.”
Collins speaks fondly of those he played with in his youth, including Green River’s Richard Smith who joined Collins as a Weber State basketball player.
When asked of his high school basketball achievements, a broad smile reached his face.
“The first time I dunked the ball was in eighth grade. The first time I dunked a ball in a game was in ninth grade,” Collins said through a grin. “We opened up the gym at the high school. With the new high school, we was the first team to play, and we played Green River. We played my friend Richard Smith. That’s the only time they beat us, that’s the only game we lost to ‘em.”
Collins said he dunked the ball when he was upset during the game, but it happened so fast that few people even realized what happened.
“I dunked it so fast, I didn’t get called technical. The ball didn’t even touch the net, it went right through.”
WEBER STATE
Despite standing out as a player in Wyoming, only three Division I schools sought Collins. He said much of that was because he missed part of his senior year’s season due to a bleeding ulcer. He returned for regionals and state, but many recruiters were unable to see him play. In addition, the University of Wyoming got a new coach that year who was unfamiliar with Collins.
He chose to play for coach Neil McCarthy at Weber State where he soon became a legend.
Collins still ranks as Weber State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,019 points and holds four school records. In his four years at Weber State, the university won two Big Sky Championships and three Big Sky Tournament titles. While Collins played for Weber State from 1976-1980, Weber State went to the NCAA Tournament three times.
He started all 120 games of his career—another Weber State record. Because many young star athletes go to the pros early, Collins thinks that record may stand unbroken.
As for the record 2,019 points, Collins said he never expected it to last for so long.
“When you hold the record for forty years, you know somebody’s gonna break it sooner or later,” said Collins. “But as long as I’ve got it, I’m gonna appreciate it.”
PLAYING IN ASIA
After completing four years at Weber State, Collins was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers and played three years in Asia, including in China and the Philippines.
Collins was part of a 12-man team from the U.S. which helped to prepare other teams for the 1984 Olympics. During that time, Collins played teams from China, the Philippines, Spain, and Russia. Out of 77 games, Collins’ team won 76.
ON SUCCESS
Collins said his success came from hard work. When asked to identify one thing that helped launch his success, he said practice was most important.
Collins read books, studied players, and implemented what he learned while practicing.
“My program was to come and work on my defense for an hour, work on the offense, work on my passing, and my goal was to shoot 750 shots a day. From the time I was eight years old until I was 26 years old, I played basketball every day,” said Collins.
Collins said he taught himself many of the things he knows, but that came from the time spent on the court either by himself or with other players.
RETIRING THE JERSEY
On Feb. 13, 2016, Collins number 22 jersey will officially be retired by Weber State Athletics.
Collins said he is still in awe that his jersey will be one of only two retired for Weber State men’s basketball.
“I don’t know really how to feel. The first person they retired—Willie Sojourner—I met Willie. I never got to talk to him about sports or basketball. He got killed… A drunk driver hit him on the sidewalk. So I’ll be the first one to do the speech. So that’s kind of shocking.”
Even though Collins is counting down the days until his jersey is retired, he still is not sure what he will say when it’s time to give his speech.
“I started writing it down on a piece of paper, and the more I started writing the more my hand started shaking. So I threw that away. I’m just going to talk from the heart.”
ON FAMILY
Collins describes his family as a tight group.
Even his number, 22, was selected from his family’s birthdays. Each member of his family growing up had the number two somewhere in their birthday, so he selected number 22 for his jersey.
After three years in Asia, Collins returned home to Rock Springs in March of 1982 to be closer to his parents, brother, and his soon-to-be in-laws.
He married his childhood sweetheart, Teresa, in April that year.
“We like it here. We probably could have went anywhere in the nation, but we both like it here,” Collins said of his return to Rock Springs.
Collins’ two sons, both in their early 30s, show great pride in their father’s accomplishments. Whenever a video comes out of Collins playing basketball, his sons are sure to share the video with the world.
ON HUMILITY
Collins said he doesn’t like talking about himself. Instead, he likes to give credit to those who have helped him in his success.
“You know, there’s no ‘I’ in team. I learned that at a young age. I learned that in church league. That there’s no ‘I’ in team. You win as a team; You lose as a team,” said Collins. “I knew early on that I could score. I knew that. I’m not taking nothing away from any other players. God gave me a gift. He gave me a gift to play basketball. I just had to put the work in.”
Collins says it never was about him and was always about the team.
NEVER FORGOTTEN
“I never forgot the people that helped me the most in Rock Springs,” Collins said.
He remembers his coach, principal, and athletic director through high school. He says they were key in his life.
“That’s why I try to give back to the community, and I try to teach the kids what I was taught. You can’t forget that. That’s something you’ll never forget.”
Within one year of returning to Rock Springs in 1982, Collins began helping kids with basketball—offering tips and coaching to those he saw playing.
Now, Collins teaches several basketball camps throughout the year and works with children while employed as the gym supervisor at Family Recreation Center in Rock Springs.
SPECIAL THANKS
Collins said several people have helped him along the way, and he appreciates everyone who has touched his life.
Collins said there a few people who he grew up with that he wanted to thank.
First, he thanks his wife Teresa for being there from the beginning and supporting him in his career.
Next, he thanks his friend Regina Webb, who knows even more of Collins’ stats that he knows himself.
He also thanks his friend Jesse Reed, who is always the first to call and congratulate him on his accomplishments.