Fresno State’s signing of formerly incarcerated basketball star reeks of desperation | Opinion
Only the desperate do this.
Desperate college athletic programs with desperate coaches in desperate situations.
A stable, successful men’s basketball team doesn’t offer a scholarship to Zaon Collins — or anyone with his history. They don’t. That’s why Collins landed at Fresno State and not a university that plays its home games in a packed arena with championship banners that aren’t coated in dust.
Those schools don’t sign someone like Collins, no matter how talented he is at playing point guard. They don’t risk tarnishing their reputations by taking the chance on a young man whose past mistakes have resulted in consequences both legal and tragic.
That level of risk is only bearable at a school like Fresno State, which is desperate to see men’s basketball resurrected under first-year coach Vance Walberg before the Bulldogs join the Pac-12 in 2026. The reconfigured conference became an even more formidable basketball league following the addition of Gonzaga.
Collins was driving 85 mph in a 35-mph zone and under the influence of marijuana on the afternoon of Dec. 30, 2020, Las Vegas investigators said, when his Dodge Challenger slammed into another vehicle driven by Eric Echevarria, killing the 52-year-old at the scene.
Three and a half years later, in June 2023, Collins pleaded guilty to a felony charge of reckless driving resulting in death and a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, given three years probation and fined a total of $4,500.
At the time of the crash, Collins was a star hometown recruit for UNLV after helping lead Bishop Gorman High to three state championships. In August 2023, one month after his release from jail, Collins enrolled at Salt Lake City College and started 23 of 32 games for a team that went 30-4 and won its conference title.
Unlike other Walberg recruits, Fresno State did not issue a press release to announce Collins’ signing. Instead they quietly added his bio to the online roster and made him available for media interviews. Those interviews allowed Collins to express how “blessed” and “grateful” he is for this second chance, and how he wants to share his story so that teenagers who hear it make better life decisions.
I agree that people deserve second chances in life. But Fresno State should not take such a big chance on someone else’s second-chance project.
T. J. Otzelberger, the UNLV coach who won a recruiting battle with Arizona, USC and Arizona State to recruit Collins out of high school, has since moved on to Iowa State. Yet UNLV didn’t welcome Collins back, nor did he reunite with Otzelberger in Ames, Iowa.
Instead, he wound up at Fresno State playing for a school with a floundering men’s basketball program and a coaching staff that barely knows him.
It reeks of desperation.
Fresno State president gives green light
Walberg’s recruitment of Collins did not meet with universal approval within the athletic department, per my understanding. President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval gave the green light.
Why take a chance on a young man with Collins’ history? I emailed that question to Jiménez-Sandoval and received a lengthy response. Far too lengthy to include in full.
“At Fresno State, we believe in the transformative power of higher education to support all individuals in achieving a better life, regardless of their past,” Jiménez-Sandoval replied.
“Our ethos is rooted in accessibility and opportunity, ensuring that higher education is not just a privilege for the few, but a powerful force for all. This philosophy guided our decision with Zaon, as it aligns with the values of our university and programs.”
Jiménez-Sandoval went on to extol Project Rebound, a program that helps formerly incarcerated students transition to the university setting and boasts a 0% redactism rate for graduates. While Collins did not enroll at Fresno State through Project Rebound, the president added, “the potential for his life and sentiments are the same.”
It’s great that Fresno State wants to give second chances to students with a checkered résumé — even those who aren’t good at basketball. And if Collins proves to be a key cog in Walberg’s successful rebuild while behaving like a model citizen, his past will cease to be much of a story.
But right now, a month before the season opener, that cannot be assumed. The only certainty is how desperate this all looks.
