Steve Collins Built Championships And Now Teaches Basketball Coaches Everywhere
For nearly three decades, Steve Collins built one of Wisconsin high school basketball's most successful programs.
Now, after stepping away from the sidelines, his impact on basketball may be entering an entirely different stage.
Collins retired following the 2025–26 season after 27 seasons leading the boys basketball program at Vel Phillips Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin.
His career included three state championships, more than 500 victories, 14 consecutive conference championships and induction into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
But the victories tell only part of his story.
Through TeachHoops, Coaching Youth Hoops, podcasts, clinics and educational resources, Collins has taken decades of basketball experience and created ways to teach coaches well beyond Wisconsin.
His next chapter isn't about building one program.
It's about helping coaches build thousands of them.
Why Steve Collins Matters
Sustained success in basketball is difficult.
Winning with one talented group is one accomplishment.
Creating a system that survives graduating classes, changing personnel, evolving competition and decades of expectations is something entirely different.
Collins demonstrated that kind of longevity at Memorial.
His influence now extends beyond players he coached directly because he has transformed his experience into resources other coaches can study, adapt and implement.
Background & Basketball Journey
Collins' basketball roots run deep in Madison.
He attended Madison East High School, captaining both the basketball and volleyball teams before graduating in 1985.
He continued his basketball career at Lawrence University, where he became a three-year team captain.
His professional life also combined coaching with education.
Collins worked as an AP Statistics teacher, an interesting piece of his background considering the organization, analysis and attention to detail required to sustain a successful basketball program.
In 1998, Collins pursued the Memorial head-coaching position.
He wasn't taking over a powerhouse.
Memorial had not reached a regional final since the 1991–92 season. His original objective was relatively modest: build a winning team.
What followed became much bigger.
Career And Accomplishments
Collins transformed Memorial into a Wisconsin basketball power.
His teams captured Wisconsin Division I state championships in 2005, 2009 and 2011 while also producing five state runner-up finishes.
Memorial won 14 consecutive conference championships from 2004 through 2017, a streak described by the Madison school district as a state record.
TeachHoops lists Collins' career head-coaching record at 519–155.
His résumé also includes two State Coach of the Year honors, national tournament success and induction into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Those accomplishments demonstrate something more important than individual seasons: consistency.
Impact On Basketball
Collins' influence can also be measured through player development.
An earlier CoachTube biography credited his Memorial program with producing 38 collegiate athletes and six professional players.
Developing players for opportunities beyond high school is another layer of his coaching legacy.
But Collins has expanded his influence further through TeachHoops, an educational platform offering drills, practice plans, courses, clinics, documents and additional resources for basketball coaches.
He is also connected with Coaching Youth Hoops, which has stated a mission of positively impacting one million children through basketball by 2032.
Original Analysis
What makes Collins particularly interesting is how he has extended the lifespan of his basketball knowledge.
A coach can accumulate decades of valuable experience, practice concepts, leadership lessons, mistakes, player-development methods and program-building strategies only for much of that knowledge to disappear when the coaching career ends.
Collins chose another route.
He began packaging that knowledge so other coaches could learn from it.
His evolution can almost be described as:
Coach → Program Builder → Educator → Content Creator → Coaching Entrepreneur
That progression makes his story especially relevant in today's basketball environment.
What Makes Steve Collins Different
TeachHoops isn't simply about plays.
Steve Collins' content reaches into leadership, motivation, team building, practice organization, youth development and the everyday challenges coaches encounter.
His podcast catalog has included Coach Unplugged, High School Hoops, The 5 Minute Basketball Coaching Podcast, Coaching Youth Hoops, The Basketball Leadership Podcast and other basketball-focused programs.
That creates influence far beyond one gym.
Supporting Information
Collins retired after Memorial finished as Wisconsin Division I state runner-up during the 2025–26 season.
Former Memorial player and assistant/JV coach Billy Wilson was subsequently selected to lead the program.
That succession provides another indication of Collins' impact: someone who played for him and later worked within the program became part of carrying it forward.
Challenges And Journey
Collins' career is also a reminder that powerhouse programs aren't always inherited.
When he arrived at Memorial, sustained championship success wasn't guaranteed.
It had to be constructed.
The championships eventually became the visible result, but decades of organization, teaching, player development, culture building and consistency formed the foundation.
Al Woods Perspective
What stands out to me about Steve Collins isn't simply the 500-plus victories or the three state championships.
It's what he did with the knowledge accumulated along the way.
Basketball needs experienced people willing to teach the next generation of coaches.
When successful coaches share what worked, what failed and what they learned over decades, the entire game can benefit.
Collins built winners, developed players and established a championship culture.
Now he's creating opportunities for other coaches to learn from those experiences.
That's basketball impact extending beyond wins and losses.
What The Basketball Community Can Learn
Great programs aren't created overnight.
They require standards, teaching, consistency, organization and patience.
Collins' career also demonstrates that knowledge becomes more valuable when it's shared.
A coach's influence doesn't necessarily have to end when the final game is coached.
Sometimes that's when the next form of influence begins.
Conclusion
Steve Collins spent 27 seasons building Memorial basketball into a championship program.
Three state titles, more than 500 victories and a remarkable conference championship streak established his coaching résumé.
But his next chapter deserves attention too.
Through TeachHoops, Coaching Youth Hoops and his extensive educational content, Collins is taking lessons accumulated across decades and putting them into the hands of coaches everywhere.
The sideline chapter may have ended.
The teaching hasn't.
Author/Byline
Al Woods | Woods Recruiting
Al Woods is the founder of Woods Recruiting and has been involved in basketball as a player, scout and evaluator for decades.
Through Woods Recruiting, he covers high school and college basketball, grassroots programs, recruiting, coaches, scouts, trainers and individuals making an impact throughout the game.
The Movers & Shakers series recognizes people and organizations whose work, leadership and contributions deserve greater attention throughout the basketball community.