He was born and raised in Syracuse, New York, where he attended Corcoran High School.

Collins was the head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1996 to 2010, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach and leading UIC to its first-ever postseason appearances - NCAA tournament appearances in 1998, 2002 and 2004, and an NIT showing in 2003.

Jimmy Collins graduated from Corcoran High School and played college basketball at New Mexico State University under head coach Lou Henson.

[2][3] Collins began his coaching career with one and a half years as a graduate assistant at New Mexico State after retiring from professional basketball.

There he had made a name for himself as one of the nation's best recruiters, helping lure Chicago area players such as Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson, Deon Thomas and the bulk of the Fighting Illini's 1989 Final Four team.