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Alcoa hires Morristown East's Ryan Collins as new boys basketball coach

Aaron Torres
Knoxville

Ryan Collins, the boys basketball coach at Morristown East, has been hired to become the new boys basketball coach at Alcoa, the school announced Friday morning.

Collins replaces coach Joel Kirk, who coached the Tornadoes for five seasons but resigned in March to become the assistant athletic director. Collins coached at Morristown East for five seasons. 

"We are fortunate to have Coach Collins as our new Head Basketball coach here at Alcoa, not only because of his proven leadership and coaching ability, but more importantly because of his tradition of integrity and commitment to service," Stephens said in a statement. "I look forward to the excitement and success we will enjoy as Coach Collins and his student-athletes hit the court and compete to win." 

In his five seasons as coach of the Hurricanes, Collins had a 104-60 record. This season, Collins led the Hurricanes to the Region 1-AAA semifinals, where they lost to Dobyns-Bennett by one point. The Hurricanes also finished second in the District 2-AAA tournament after losing on a three-pointer at the buzzer to Sevier County. 

PrepXtra Player of the Year nominee Connor Jordan poses for a photo in the Knoxville News Sentinel photo studio in Knoxville, Tennessee on Thursday, March 21, 2019.

Collins coached senior guard Connor Jordan, a 5-11 King University signee who is a nominee for PrepXtra Boys Basketball player of the year after averaging 25 points a game this season. 

"We are fortunate to have a coach the caliber of Coach Collins," Alcoa principal Rebecca Stone said in a statement. "He's a proven winner and comes highly recommended by everyone who has worked with him."