Shirey Collins complete Lady'Back basketball staff

FAYETTEVILLE – Former University of Louisville assistant coach Greg Collins and University of Arkansas assistant Amber Shirey complete the women’s basketball staff for the Lady Razorbacks, UA head coach Tom Collen announced today.

Collins joins the Arkansas staff an assistant coach while Collen retains Shirey as a member of the administration staff as the executive director of operations.

“It’s great to be able to complete our coaching staff with the hiring of Greg and Amber,” Collen said. “Having the right people in place puts us on the road to our goals for the program.”

Collins will coordinate the scouting and work on the court. Shirey takes over additional items for the staff.

“I really believe our staff would not be complete without my ability to retain Amber,” Collen said. “Everyone in the state identifies Arkansas women’s basketball with the tradition that Amber established back in the late 1980s as a point guard.”

As the executive director, Shirey brings her current duties with scheduling to the existing assignments for the operations director for travel and summer camps. Collen added the responsibility for Shirey as the coordinator for on-campus recruiting activities.

“The commitment she’s made to this program over the years is well known,” Collen said. “Everyone I spoke to across the state is excited that she’ll remain with the team.”

Named to the Arkansas Hall of Honor, Shirey begins her 20th season at Arkansas dating back to her freshman year of basketball in 1988-89. She has been a member of the staff since her graduation in 1992.

At Louisville, Collins worked with the Cardinals scouting, and retains that floor coaching assignment along with day-to-day court work with Arkansas.

“We’re fortunate that we were able to convince Greg to leave,” Collen said. “He grew up and lived in Kentucky his whole life, but give him time and the folks here will believe he’s a native Arkansan.”

The floor work and scouting breakdowns by Collins for the new Arkansas coaching staff are vital to the team’s future success.

“He is one of the finest at individual instruction I know, and his expertise and enthusiasm are a huge addition to the program,” Collen said.

Collins was a five-year veteran at Louisville, working the past four seasons for Collen. A former AAU coach for Derek Smith All-Stars, his youth teams produced three Miss Kentucky Basketball winners and was ranked among the top 15 programs in the country. He served as assistant athletic director and assistant coach at DuPont Manual High School in Louisville prior to becoming a member of the UL women’s staff.

During his career, he has been a contributor to the coaching technique book, Five-Star Girls’ Basketball Drills, and served as an advance scout for the WNBA New York Liberty.

A Louisville native, he earned his bachelor’s degree from UL in marketing in 1988, then finished a master’s in business education from UL in 1994.