Former KU Jayhawk star Sherron Collins named basketball coach at Lawrence Free State High
Former University of Kansas guard Sherron Collins is the new head boys basketball coach at Lawrence Free State High School, pending approval of the Lawrence Public Schools Board of Education.
The announcement was made Tuesday on social media and on Free State’s website by Free State High athletic director Amanda Faunce, who wrote on Twitter: “Free State Firebirds — I am so excited to announce Sherron Collins as the Lawrence Free State head boys basketball coach (pending BOE approval)!”
Collins, 35, a key contributor on KU’s 2008 NCAA national-title team, is a 2006 graduate of Crane High School in Chicago. He graduated from KU with a Liberal Arts degree in 2010.
“I am so excited to be the head coach of the boys basketball program at Lawrence Free State High School. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to help our boys both on and off the court. I’m ready to get to work!” Collins said in a release.
Collins, coach of an AAU basketball team in Kansas City who has been living in Lawrence the past several years, told The Star on Tuesday that he inquired about the coaching position right after Free State coach Sam Stroh announced May 20 he was stepping down after seven seasons.
“This is a big day in my life, my first coaching job at a high school is really exciting,” Collins said Tuesday. “I knew when I was done playing I’d be around the game coaching. It’s my calling, my direction. To coach kids in this community, one that I love, is really special.”
Collins said: “This has been my dream, to make sure kids don’t go through what I did (growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago). To get to mentor young men and give back is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
He said, “I will use things I learned from coach (Bill) Self, things I’ve learned from every coach I’ve played for. I am thankful to all the coaches in my life who helped me get to this point.”
Collins had his jersey No. 4 hung in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters in February of 2018. He was a two-time first-team all-Big 12 player and the most outstanding player of the 2010 Big 12 tournament. Collins ranks fifth on the Kansas career scoring list with 1,888 points. He’s sixth in three-point shots made (232) and 10th in assists (552).
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 7:19 PM.
