Maryland men's basketball, Buzz Williams finalizes bench staff with hires of David "Aki" Collins, Greg Young

Ahmed Ghafir
Jul 9
2 min read

Maryland men’s basketball has announced several key hires this week, and Wednesday was no different as head coach Buzz Williams formally announced his fifth and final bench assistant.

Longtime assistant coach David “Aki” Collins joins the program under Buzz Williams and alongside Wabissa Bede, Devin Johnson, Lyle Wolf and Steve Roccaforte. Collins, a Brooklyn native, heads to Maryland as the new assistant coach and director of player personnel. He previously served as an assistant at Colorado, Howard, Marshall and Fairfield before teaming up with Buzz Williams at Marquette. It was with the Golden Eagles that Collins developed a reputation as a strong recruiter during his three seasons with the program. Collins then coached at Memphis, serving as the lead recruiter for top-40 prospect Kuran Iverson, before spending time in the NBA, where he was hired as an amateur scout. Collins then moved back to the college ranks in 2020-21 as an assistant at New Mexico before taking over as head of recruiting and retention for Overtime Elite.

Collins’ latest stint was at Penn State where he was an assistant for the Nittany Lions from 2021-23.

"I've known Coach Aki for a long time. We worked together over a decade ago and have stayed good friends in this business," said Williams via release. "I trust his ability, and character, as much as anyone in this business. He has a history of production in his role and will be a valuable asset to our players and our staff. I am very thankful he is here!"

Collins wasn’t the only assistant announced on Wednesday with longtime assistant Greg Young joining Buzz Williams’s staff in College Park. Collins joins the program after serving as the associate head coach at Troy for the last two seasons, while he’s previously served as the head coach at UT Arlington, Jacksonville College, Hill College and Lamar Community College. Collins brings nearly four decades of coaching experience to the Maryland staff and was previously named the Sun Belt’s top assistant prior to the 2020-21 season.

"I've known GY almost my entire life. He was in my wedding. He is an incredible human being. He brings a wealth of wisdom and experience to our staff," said Williams via release. "He will be leaned on by myself and our coaching staff in many ways and provide a different perspective on the game that is only additive to our program. I am incredibly grateful he is here!”

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