17-04-2025
Former Miami High, University of Miami basketball star Dwayne Collins dies at 37
Former Miami High and University of Miami basketball player Dwayne Collins died on Wednesday, three days after his 37th birthday. The cause of death has not been announced, but a heart attack is suspected, according to multiple sources.
Collins, 6-8, played for the Hurricanes from 2006 to 2010 and averaged 23.6 minutes, 9.9 points and 7 rebounds per game. He was the second player in UM history to reach 1,000 points, 850 rebounds and 100 assists in a career and as a senior led the team in scoring (12.0 ppg), rebounding (7.8 rpg), and field-goal percentage (.604) — the second-best single-season field goal percentage in UM history at that time.
He was selected with the final pick of the 2010 draft by the Phoenix Suns but did not play for them that season.
He signed with Italian team Cimberio Varese for the 2010–11 season, but he was let go prior to the start of the season after sustaining a knee injury. He returned to action in July 2013 when he joined the Suns for the 2013 NBA Summer League. In five games for the Suns, he averaged 1.2 points in 5.3 minutes per game.
Collins was an all-state and All-Dade County selection as a junior and senior at Miami High. He averaged 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks per game as a senior. He led Miami High to the state title as a junior, averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
He played for the Miami Tropics AAU team under coach Art 'Pilin' Alvarez, with whom Collins shared a birthday.
'I had just texted with Dwayne on April 13, because we share that birthday, so this was a complete shock and the Miami basketball community is in pain,' Alvarez said. 'He was one of the most loved student-athletes in the Miami ranks, so nice and humble. He was a great basketball player and an even better human being.'
