Ex-grizzlies coach Hollins to volunteer at Lemoyne-owen
Lionel Hollins will be involved with basketball in Memphis again.
Hollins, the Memphis Grizzlies' alltime winningest coach who turns 68 years old Tuesday, will volunteer his time and expertise at Division II Lemoyne-owen College . The Magicians, whose 2020-21 season was called off due to COVID-19, are set to begin their season at 4 p.m. Sunday against Memphis at Fedexforum. The program won a Division III national championship in 1975 under Jerry Johnson and it remains the only men's college basketball team in the state of Tennessee to win an NCAA title.
First-year Lemoyne-owen coach Bonzi Wells played two seasons (200304 and 2004-05) with the Grizzlies when Hollins was an assistant and an interim head coach.
“Me and coach Hollins have had a long relationship, for 20 years, ever since I played down here with the Grizzlies,” said Wells, who became Lemoyne-owen's fourth coach in school history in August. “He just wants to help a young, up-and-coming coach. He still has a home in Memphis, so it makes sense.”
Hollins' NBA coaching career began as an assistant with the Phoenix Suns in 1988. He was later an assistant with the Vancouver Grizzlies where he also was the team's interim coach for 60 games during the 1990-2000 season.
Hollins' first of two stints with the Memphis Grizzlies spanned from 200207. He served as interim head coach after Hubie Brown resigned. After four games, Hollins was replaced by Mike Fratello.
Hollins returned to Memphis as coach in 2009 and spent the next four seasons with the Grizzlies, leading them to 183 wins during that span. Hollins guided the team to its best season in franchise history in 2012-13, as the Grizzlies went 56-26 and reached the Western Conference finals.
Wells declined to go into specifics about the role Hollins will play.
“He's just helping me, helping the program,” Wells said. “He's a coach. He's done this. I'm a young coach. This is kind of like my rookie year. So, just him being a coaching veteran, he feels like he has an obligation to help young coaches. He just wants to see us be successful. We really appreciate his tutelage and everything he brings to the table.”
Hollins becomes the latest former NBA coach to lend their knowledge to college basketball players in Memphis. Hall of Famer Larry Brown, the only person to win both an NCAA championship and an NBA title, was hired as an assistant earlier this year by Tigers coach Penny Hardaway.
Most recently, Hollins spent two seasons on the Los Angeles Lakers' staff, where he helped the franchise win the NBA championship in 2020.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.