{{Short description|American basketball player (born 1982)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = DeAngelo Collins | image = | width = | caption = | team = | league = | position = Power forward / center | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 9 | weight_lb = 230 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|11|21}} | birth_place = Stockton, California, U.S. | high_school = *Tustin (Tustin, California) *Inglewood (Inglewood, California) | college = | draft_year = 2002 | career_start = 2002 | career_end = 2012 | years1 = 2002 | team1 = Darüşşafaka | years2 = 2004 | team2 = Central Entrerriano | years3 = 2004 | team3 = Juarez Gallos | years4 = 2004 | team4 = Red Bull Barako | years5 = 2004–2005 | team5 = Florida Flame | years6 = 2005 | team6 = Yunnan Honghe Bulls | years7 = 2005 | team7 = Grises de Humacao | years8 = 2005–2006 | team8 = BT Roseto | years9 = 2006 | team9 = Beijing Aoshen Olympians | years10 = 2006 | team10 = Dodge City Legend | years11 = 2007 | team11 = Orthodox | years12 = 2007 | team12 = Cocodrilos de Caracas | years13 = 2007 | team13 = Zhejiang Lions | years14 = 2007–2008 | team14 = Al-Ittihad Jeddah | years15 = 2008 | team15 = Carlsbad Beach Dawgs | years16 = 2008–2009 | team16 = Seoul SK Knights | years17 = 2010 | team17 = Jilin Northeast Tigers | years18 = 2010 | team18 = Leones de Ponce | years19 = 2010 | team19 = Trotamundos de Carabobo | years20 = 2011 | team20 = Shenyang Dongjin | years21 = 2012 | team21 = Sichuan Blue Whales | highlights = *McDonald's All-American (2002) * Third-team ''Parade'' All-American (2002) *USA Today High School Basketball Third Team (2002) }}
'''DeAngelo Marquis Collins'''<ref name=fullname>{{Cite news|title=Player's on-court lifeline fraying|author=Saavedra, Tony and Kelleher, Susan|work=The Orange County Register|date=September 19, 1999}}</ref> (born November 21, 1982){{refn|group=n|His birthdate has been also reported as being November 21, 1981, and November 21, 1982, depending on the source. NBA.com lists him as born in 1980. The California Birth Index shows his date of birth as November 21, 1982. {{Cite web|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/deangelo_marquis_collins_born_1982_15280606|title=Deangelo Marquis Collins was born on November 21, 1982 in San Joaquin County, California|website=californiabirthindex.org|publisher=California Birth Index|access-date=May 7, 2020}}}} is an American former professional basketball player.
==High school career== The son of single mother Loretta Marie Taylor, he grew up in Stockton, California, in a low-income neighborhood<ref name=fullname /> and since the beginning of his high school career Collins was a promising basketball player whose career was often slowed down by discipline issues. During his first year at Tustin High he was involved in a fight with a teammate, during which Collins caused serious injuries to the other student and was sentenced to 6 months in juvenile hall. After several more issues with the law (including another sentence for 2 months to be served in juvenile detention), Collins and his mother moved to Inglewood, California, in an attempt to change the violent attitude of the teenager. This decision proved beneficial to the young Collins, who reportedly started to improve his behavior, helped by the guidance of Inglewood high school coach Patrick Roy.<ref name=latimes>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-02-sp-collins02-story.html|title=Prep Star Tries to Shed His Past|last=Bolch|first=Ben|date=May 2, 2002|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name=espnclass>[http://www.espn.com/espn/magazine/archives/news/story?page=magazine-20020624-article8 BEST In, Upperclassmen|Foreigners|Underclassmen|Junior College|High], ESPN.com.</ref> While he averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds in his 29 games of his freshman season at Tustin, he improved his numbers and recorded averages of 20 points and 15 rebounds in his sophomore year.<ref>[https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3258:deangelo-collins-2002-underclassmen&catid=141:early-entries&Itemid=342 Deangelo Collins 2002 Underclassmen]</ref> Collins became nationally known during his last year of high school, during which he reached the first positions of most rankings:<ref name=nbadraft>[http://www.nba.com/draft2002/profiles/deangelo_collins.html Player Profile - DeAngelo Collins]</ref><ref name=hoopscoop>[http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/class2002finalrankings.html HOOP SCOOP’S FINAL RANKING OF THE NATION’S TOP 400 SENIORS (CLASS OF 2002)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705201257/http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/class2002finalrankings.html |date=July 5, 2012 }}, Hoop Scoop.</ref> throughout his senior year he was consistently ranked among the top 10 players of his class, going as high as 7th in the nation.<ref name=espnranking>Mark Mayemura, [http://www.espn.com/recruiting/s/010815top100.html Top 100 seniors - Class of 2002], ESPN.com.</ref>
During the 2001 ABCD Camp he was ranked among the top 10 players and was named MVP of the Seniors All-Star Game with 23 points and 10 rebounds.<ref name=abcd>[http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/adidas2001ccf.html Final Ranking of the Top Players at the adidas ABCD Camp]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Hoop Scoop.</ref> He also played during the Youth Development Festival organized by USA Basketball.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.usab.com/mens/men_alpha_C.html |title=All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster // C |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612114247/http://archive.usab.com/mens/men_alpha_C.html |archive-date=June 12, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to various experts who watched him play during his high school days, his skillset was unusual: while his 6-9 frame (several sources listed him at 6–10) generally made him play as a center during his high school games, he was capable of playing the power forward position thanks to his shooting skills and his quickness: he was frequently described as having the body of a big man and the skills of a guard.<ref name=espnclass /><ref name=nbadraft /><ref name=espnprofile>[http://www.espn.com/nbadraft/tracker/player?playerId=18343 Draft Tracker - DeAngelo Collins]</ref> This also represented one of his weaknesses: while he had good skills in several parts of the game, he did not truly excel in any of them.<ref name=nbadraft /><ref name=espnprofile /> After averaging 24.5 points and 17.4 rebounds, Collins was selected as a Third-team ''Parade'' All-American and as a McDonald's All-American. During the 2002 McDonald's All-American Boys Game he scored 15 points and recorded 6 rebounds.<ref name=nbadraft />
On May 1, 2002, Collins announced that he was going to skip college and enter the 2002 NBA draft as an early entrant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/02/sports/plus-hs-basketball-high-school-player-declares-for-draft.html|title=PLUS: H.S. BASKETBALL; High School Player Declares for Draft|work=The New York Times|date=May 2, 2002}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nba.com/news/early_entry_020517.html NBA Announces 2002 Early Entry Candidates], NBA.com.</ref><ref name=italy>{{in lang|it}} [http://web.legabasket.it/news/52900/roseto__ingaggiato_deangelo_collins Roseto: ingaggiato DeAngelo Collins]</ref>
==Professional career== During the 2002 draft, no NBA team selected Collins, who was then allowed to sign for any team as an unrestricted free agent. Despite having participated in the Toronto Raptors preseason camp, he did not receive any offers from the Raptors or any NBA team, and he decided to start his professional career in Europe. His first professional club was Istanbul-based Darüşşafaka S.K., and he played 1 game in the 2002–03 ULEB Cup: in 14 minutes of play he scored both of his field goals, scoring 4 points and recording 3 rebounds. Collins briefly played for several teams and struggled to find stability: in January 2004 he signed for Central Entrerriano, in the Argentine Liga Nacional de Básquet,<ref>{{in lang|es}} [http://www.pickandroll.com.ar/noticias/00004324/collins-la-nueva-ficha-de-central/ Collins, la nueva ficha de Central]</ref> as a temporary replacement for Anthony Bishop, and played only 4 games there, averaging 20.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.<ref name=italy /> After the short stint in Argentina he transferred to Mexico, where he played for the Juarez Gallos. In 2004 he was called by the Philadelphia 76ers to be part of their Summer League squad, but he had to move to another country once more to find playing time: he signed for Red Bull Barako of the Philippine league. He came back to the United States to play for the Florida Flame, where he appeared in 12 games, averaging only 2.3 points and 4.3 rebounds.<ref name=fullcareer>Chris Wang, [http://www.jumpshot.sg/2011/11/21/sbl-imports-situation/ SBL Imports Situation]{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, Jumpshot.sg, November 21, 2011.</ref> At the beginning of 2005 he signed for Yunnan Honghe in the Chinese CBL,<ref>[http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/2004-2005cba/118940.htm Yunnan Honghe Bulls]</ref> where he played 16 games with drastically improved averages of 28.9 points and 16.6 rebounds.
After a brief experience at Grises de Humacao in Puerto Rico, Collins came back to Europe and in July 2005 he signed for Italian club Roseto, but during his three months there he only played 4 games, averaging 3.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 15 minutes of play. The Italian team released him on October 22, 2005,<ref>{{in lang|it}} [https://www.gazzetta.it/Sport_Vari/Basket/Primo_Piano/2005/10_Ottobre/22/roseto.shtml Roseto taglia DeAngelo Collins], La Gazzetta dello Sport, October 22, 2005.</ref> following to several disciplinary issues, among which an argument with teammate Jack Michael Martínez that almost escalated in a fight.<ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.my-basket.it/serie-a/news/collins-deangelo-o-dediavolo/ Collins: DeAngelo o DeDiavolo?]</ref> After Italy, Collins decided to play for the Dodge City Legend in the USBL, appearing in 13 games.<ref name=fullcareer /> Another NBA team gave Collins a chance during the 2007 Summer Pro League: the Dallas Mavericks. He was not included in the final roster and had again to go abroad, this time in Jordan when he averaged 10 points per game with Orthodox, and in March 2007 he moved to Venezuela where he played 5 games with Cocodrilos de Caracas, averaging 8.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1 block per game in 26.4 minutes of playing time.<ref>{{Cite web|archive-date=October 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019134404/http://www.lpb.com.ve/site/pdf/Equipos.pdf|url=http://www.lpb.com.ve/site/pdf/Equipos.pdf|title=2007 LPB Stats|language=es|website=lpb.com.ve|access-date=April 24, 2020}}</ref> After two short stints in Saudi Arabia and in the American WCBL, Collins found a relatively stable role as a starter in South Korea, where he joined the Seoul SK Knights for 33 games, averaging 11.6 points and 10.3 rebounds.<ref name=fullcareer /> In January 2010 he came back to China, signing for the Jilin Northeast Tigers, where he appeared in 14 games. He played again in Puerto Rico and Venezuela and in 2011 he signed for Shenyang Dongjin, posting averages of 23.1 points and 12.5 rebounds in 19 games.<ref name=fullcareer />
== Notes == {{reflist|group=n}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20180518130132/http://www.proballers.com/basket-ball-player/21170/deangelo-collins/career-stats Career stats at ProBallers.com] *[https://www.basketball-reference.com/euro/players/deangelo-collins-1.html Stats at Basketball-Reference.com] *[http://195.56.77.208/player/COL-DEA-80/collins_deangelo Stats at LegaBasket] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518054910/http://195.56.77.208/player/COL-DEA-80/collins_deangelo |date=May 18, 2018 }} *[http://www.english.worldhoopstats.com/stats/lnb-ar/collins-de-angelo.html LNB stats at worldhoopstats.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227030817/http://www.english.worldhoopstats.com/stats/lnb-ar/collins-de-angelo.html |date=December 27, 2019 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, DeAngelo}} Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate basketball people in Argentina Category:American expatriate basketball people in China Category:American expatriate basketball people in Jordan Category:American expatriate basketball people in Italy Category:American expatriate basketball people in Mexico Category:American expatriate basketball people in Saudi Arabia Category:American expatriate basketball people in South Korea Category:American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Category:American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela Category:Basketball players from Stockton, California Category:Caciques de Humacao players Category:Cocodrilos de Caracas players Category:Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Category:Florida Flame players Category:Jilin Northeast Tigers players Category:Leones de Ponce basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:Seoul SK Knights players Category:Trotamundos de Carabobo players Category:American men's basketball players Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Power forwards Category:Inglewood High School (California) alumni Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Yunnan Bulls players Category:Zhejiang Lions players Category:Sichuan Blue Whales (NBL) players