Darren Collison Excited to Join the Pacers

Collison tells the Indy Star that fans in Hoosier country will love what he brings to the table: “Darren Collison grew up in Southern California watching fellow UCLA alum Reggie Miller lead the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs on a regular basis. Collison wants to pick up where Miller left off. ‘People can look forward to a player that loves to win,’ Collison said. ‘I just want to bring that excitement back to the city.’ Collison will be given the opportunity to lead the Pacers back to the postseason for the first time since 2006. He’s expected to be the starting point guard when the Pacers open the season Oct. 27 at San Antonio. ‘I talked to Darren and he’s excited about the opportunity to run the team,’ Pacers coach Jim O’Brien said. ‘He knows the tempo we play at, and he’s excited to be part of this growth process.’ The Pacers are confident they solved their lingering point guard issues by acquiring Collison and veteran swingman James Posey from New Orleans in a four-team deal that sent Troy Murphy to New Jersey on Wednesday. The Pacers have ended each of the past five seasons with a different starting point guard. ‘As much as I liked having Troy on the team, he certainly gave us a double-double every time out, but by getting Collison and Posey, we really made ourselves more athletic and quicker,’ O’Brien said.”