Doug Collins remembers all (except combination to the safe)

Doug Collins has eidetic memory (aka photographic memory)
Feature about Doug. Might be a long read, 5 pages. Bolded mine.

Collins remembers almost every game he has ever played or coached.

The 59-year-old Collins has not asked his video coordinator, Monte Shubik, for a copy of a 76ers game all season. At a recent staff meeting one assistant coach mentioned a loss to the Hawks in which Philly guard Lou Williams missed a dunk, triggering an Atlanta rally. "There was 5:14 on the clock," Collins said matter-of-factly, then recited every play that occurred the rest of the game.

And so, in the middle of the meeting, Shubik started watching that Hawks-Sixers game on his laptop.

Sure enough, there was 5:14 left when Philadelphia's defensive possession started. The rest happened exactly the way Collins said. The game had been played almost four months earlier.

Collins does not use a computer. Before every game he watches two hours of the opposing team's defense, but that is pretty much it. He is probably wasting his mind in this game," Spoelstra says with a laugh. ""He could probably be saving a lot of lives in the world of science."

Collins doesn't remember every single play, and sometimes he gets small details wrong. But generally, his recall is uncanny.

Collins remembers the things that matter most to him: people, Bible verses and basketball games. Yes, he remembers his kids' basketball games, too. He could peacefully watch his daughter, Kelly, play volleyball and soccer in high school because he didn't understand the nuances of those sports well enough to etch every play in his brain.

Impressive, right? But you know what would be nice sometimes? The ability to stop remembering.

What if Collins could forget, just for a day, what happened in the 1972 Olympic gold medal game in Munich?

The refs inexplicably gave the Soviets three chances to score as time expired. On the third try they succeeded. Collins spent the night walking around Munich in stunned silence. He and his teammates still haven't accepted their silver medals.

...

Assistant coaches were in awe. It is a form of genius, but as his longtime friend and assistant, Johnny Bach, says, "That strains the team, too. He is asking them to keep pace with the machine-gun mind."

In Chicago and Detroit, giving was his problem. He couldn't stop. After losses, he would gather his team, pull up a chair and give a detailed breakdown on how it went wrong. Collins was not a big yeller, but as his former player (and current Sixers assistant) Michael Curry says, "It's not so much the yelling as the constant reminding. I think that wears on a guy."

Players would tune him out...

For 20 years he was one of the great color commentators in sports, appealing to both casual fans and experts...Two years ago Collins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame—as a broadcaster. It was well-deserved, and also fitting. They did not induct him for his playing career or his coaching record. They inducted him for his ability to see the game.

...six watches that Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf gave him after each Bulls championship. As it turns out, Collins is not the only one who remembers. The Bulls fired him, but in 2008 they nearly rehired him. (He and Reinsdorf decided not to risk their friendship by working together again.)...

Saw that mentioned on Ball Don't Like on Yahoo! NBA. Pretty impressive.

Yeah, first I thought he should be kicking other coaches' ass in the X and O department with that memory of his but the mention of that incident in the Olympics does somewhat put a perspective on it of not being able to forget even the bad things and also 'paralysis by analysis' when you have too much info to decide from.

Yeah, that's a well known story actually, good to see it get a proper write up. I think either Grant Hill or Joe Dumars said something years ago about it, how while he could handle it guys who weren't so...well, smart...really had a problem with Collins because most players don't really think about the game, let alone at that level. And that's why Collins "burns out" and the players "tune out" so easily.

It's probably one of the reasons Popovich, Phil and George Karl are more prone to stick around places longer than Van Gundy, Collins, Brown, Skiles, etc. They have a more laid back style that adjusts to the players and focuses around a core "vibe" than the standard obsessiveness.

The Last Season is actually one of the better coaching books in my opinion, because it was written when Jackson didn't think he'd be back and it's so frank about how he basically just let Kobe and Shaq rant about the other and then he didn't do shit about it because once they got on the court they'd more or less forget about it. Then spend hours bitching in between each game.

Actually, this should have been a new thread shadow, it's fun. Some mod come and rectify this crime while I punish shadow.

Sixers thread needs some love!

Though I have no problem with my post about Collins and succeeding posts being split from this thread to make a new thread discussing NBA coaches.

It's probably one of the reasons Popovich, Phil and George Karl are more prone to stick around places longer than Van Gundy, Collins, Brown, Skiles, etc. They have a more laid back style that adjusts to the players and focuses around a core "vibe" than the standard obsessiveness.

Or if you're Pat Riley, leave the bench job when it's not going well then come back as the team 'savior', which is highly possible next season if the Heat don't make it out the 2nd round this playoffs. Also helps if you're the team president so you can leave and come back when you want to.

Last edited by shadowgrin on Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

You're trying to get out of your punishment?

Are you still sore from last night?

Only Jackal can make me happy. Lean is only for fun time.

Split as requested, with a Simpsons reference. Which admittedly was not requested.

Agreed that The Last Season was an enjoyable read. The candid nature was kept things interesting throughout and the decision to keep the diary-style presentation from his notes/journals worked out well.

Best thread title in ages.

I didn't expect to like The Last Season, I didn't like Sacred Hoops at all, but it's brilliant.