Illinois-Chicago basketball coach Jimmy Collins is in good condition and expected to leave the University of Illinois Medical Center in the next day or two after a procedure to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm Thursday, according to the school.
Collins requested a leave of absence from the Flames Dec. 22 because he was “physically and mentally exhausted,” and his return depends on his physical well-being, according to a university spokesman. But what kind of team Collins will find when or if he returns remains an intriguing question.
Two players, Kevin Bond and D.J. Smedley, quit the team in December, though the school did not make an announcement until the new year.
UIC spokesman Mark Rosati said, “It was an issue due to lack of playing time,” and both players remain on scholarship for the spring semester.
In addition, assistant coach Lynn Mitchem was placed on indefinite paid leave Dec. 22–a “coincidence,” Rosati said, with the timing of Collins’ leave. The school would not comment on the reasons for Mitchem’s leave, saying it is a university personnel matter.
Collins, meanwhile, had a “minimally invasive” procedure Thursday in which endovascular stent grafts were inserted into his aortic artery through two small incisions.
“When Jimmy feels he is physically up to returning, then he will return,” Rosati said.
Associate head coach Mark Coomes continues to lead the Flames in Collins’ absence.