SAD: Colin Coyne Has Been Suspended For 2 Season due to…..

Colin Coyne exercises and practices with his team as soon as he gets up. He follows the same process as the other Tennessee basketball players.

Even though Coyne is a walk-on and must find other means to pay for school outside of basketball, he is still held responsible for all he does. As a part of the scout squad, he is supposed to be familiar with every opponent’s playbook and to assume the role of the opposing post player to make sure the Vols are ready.

For all of his hard work, the 6-foot-9 forward doesn’t receive much praise. Although his contributions are significantly greater than his on-court notoriety, they are not listed in any box score.

In Tennessee’s two years, the senior

Why does he do it? Why would anyone?

“I love the game of basketball,” Coyne said.

Coyne has basketball in his blood. His father Kevin played basketball at the Naval Academy with Hall of Fame center David Robinson.

Since he was 7 years old, Coyne has been going to basketball camps in conjunction with his father’s coaching. He tried to play in middle school and made the team in his eighth grade year.

By the time high school rolled around, he began to work his way through the ranks at Stafford High School. Coyne played on the freshman and JV teams before earning three years of varsity experience.

Coyne continued to absorb his father’s experiences and attended various camps in the hopes of earning a spot in the college ranks. In his senior year at Stafford, he was named team captain and went on to earn All-District honors.

His performance was enough to earn him a spot at the Division III level with Mary Washington in his hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia, keeping his basketball dream alive.

As he began to thrive on the court, he built an unexpected connection with former Davidson head coach Bob McKillop, who recruited and coached four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry. McKillop’s teams made 10 NCAA tournaments, most notably a Curry-led Elite Eight run in 2008.

Coyne attended McKillop’s camps in high school, which was the start of their relationship. When Coyne was looking to keep honing his game amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he called McKillop.

“There were no summer camp opportunities, and I wanted to do some extra work,” Coyne said. “So, I reached out to his staff, and they got me on board with working on camps for a few years. I think two years I want to say, and that just furthered the connection.”

Coyne was inactive for the 2020-21 season as a sophomore, but with his newfound friend in McKillop, his skills and basketball IQ grew. In his junior year at Mary Washington, Coyne averaged 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 25 games while starting in 23.

From there, Coyne decided that it was time for a change and sought a bigger opportunity. He entered the transfer portal. He wanted to go Division I.

“It stemmed from wanting to do more,” Coyne said. “I felt that I still had a lot more room to grow and to grow as a player and as a person. I thought I should try and take a chance.”

He called up McKillop to search for a new home, willing to accept any opportunity that the longtime coach had to offer. McKillop called up an old friend in Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, who offered Coyne a