Women’s basketball assistant takes different path

Jimmy Colloton patiently works with a men’s practice player, explaining the next play to run during a women’s basketball practice Oct. 28. He takes his time and carefully points out the specific spots on the floor the player will move to.

He could not provide this kind of individual instruction when he previously served as a graduate assistant in the program.  

Colloton is serving as an interim assistant coach this season for the women’s basketball team. Although it’s in an interim role, he is living his dream of being a college coach.  

It was a dream job that he did not expect to come so soon. “The ball stops bouncing for everybody, and for me I wish it would’ve bounced a little bit longer than it did,” he said.

Colloton spent his undergraduate career at Wittenberg University, the winningest men’s program in Division III . He was a member of the basketball team as a freshman, though being part of the team did not last as long as he thought it would.

Most students found out about the cuts through an email with a list of names, he said. His coach, Bill Brown, sent him an email directly to explain the situation.

“Coach Brown actually sent me a personalized email that said, ‘Jimmy, we just don’t have room in the program for you this year,’” Colloton said. “‘We really think that you would do a good job as an assistant coach, would you like to do it?’”

Colloton had dreams of becoming a coach, so he accepted his coach’s offer and became a student coach for the men’s basketball program that he once belonged to as a player.

He was a student coach for the program from 2007 until 2011, the year he graduated from Wittenberg. After graduation, Colloton enrolled at IU to pursue a master of science in sports management.

Originally hired by former coach Felisha Legette-Jack as a graduate assistant, Colloton was brought over by IU Coach Curt Miller after Legette-Jack was fired.

Colloton was approached about the interim assistant coach position by Miller after former assistant coach Chris Day left to become an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Two weeks later, he talked to me after Chris left and asked me if I wanted to take the opportunity, and the rest is history,” Colloton said.

Colloton said being a graduate assistant allowed him to mainly stand and observe as well as give advice in meetings, but it didn’t really allow him to coach kids one-on-one on the court.

“Being able to coach the kids on the court is just an incredible opportunity for me and an absolute dream come true,” he said. “Besides coaching the kids, having input about gameplans and scouting reports has just been incredible.”

Colloton said coaching the players and being able to teach them has been his favorite part of the experience.

“My dad is a high school girls’ basketball coach in Chicago, and I’ve been going to practices since I was 5 or 6-years-old,” he said. “Being able to actually instruct the kids and coach them and being able to have my voice heard in practice and film sessions has been awesome.”

Sophomore forward Kaila Hulls said Colloton contributes a lot in practice and is good at what he does.

“He’s really stepped up,” she said. “I think he realizes the time commitment and the hard work that it takes to coach at this level.”

Miller said he is pleased with Colloton’s ability to teach the game.

“He’s gonna be a superstar in this profession,” Miller said. “You will all hear about Jimmy Colloton somewhere down the line.”

Follow reporter Stuart Jackson on Twitter @Stuart_Jackson1.