Cumberland men’s basketball coach Lonnie Thompson announced the hiring of former Belmont guard Brian Collins as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs, effective immediately.

Collins replaces Jay Joyner, who was recently announced as the men’s coach at Columbia State Community College.

Cumberland men’s basketball coach Lonnie Thompson announced the hiring of former Belmont guard Brian Collins as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs, effective immediately.

Collins replaces Jay Joyner, who was recently announced as the men’s coach at Columbia State Community College.

Collins joins the Cumberland staff after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant and basketball operations director at Tennessee State.

At TSU he served as the film exchange coordinator, tracked the academic progress of student-athletes, coordinated all team travel, supervised student managers and was an assistant summer camp director.

Collins played for coach Rick Byrd at Belmont from 2003-06, helping the Bruins compile a 72-48 four-year record, including the program’s first-ever NIT appearance in 2004 and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. 
  
Collins graduated from Whites Creek Comprehensive High School in 2002. He received a bachelor’s in Physical Education from Belmont in 2006 and a master’s in Sports Administration from Tennessee State this past May.