Lakeshore Basketball
Coaching Staff

Brent Brown
Associate Head Coach

Brent Brown is set to begin his fourth season on the Loyola bench. In addition to game preparation and scouting duties, Brown serves as the program's recruiting coordinator and primary coach of Loyola's post players.

"There is no doubt that Coach Brown's experience and expertise played a crucial role in our program's seven-game improvement last season," said head coach Eric Simpson. "Brent is a tremendous teacher of the game and he has assumed a positive role regarding the implementation and overall philosophy of the LU system of play. On game day, I can always rely on Brent for valuable input, key adjustments and situational coaching. In addition, our post players love working with Coach Brown. I believe the improvement and recent success of several of our key post players is evidence that Coach Brown is truly one of the best skill development coaches around."

As recruiting coordinator, Brown has helped Loyola secure another top-flight recruiting class for the 2010-11 season. The trio of Lyndsey Booker, Troy Hambric and Lauren Hibbard was widely acclaimed by pundits and the class earned "on the cusp" recognition by ESPN HoopGirlz, a designation that places the class between 61st and 75th nationally, highest among Horizon League schools.

In addition to the current incoming class, Brown has helped recruit all-state student-athletes Monica Albano, Ellen Ayoub, Lindsey Sebetic and Satavia Taylor as Loyola builds its talent base.

Proving to be more than just a recruiter, Brown has also had great success in developing Loyola posts. With his tutelage, Elyse VanBogaert blossomed into of the Horizon League's most effective post players and finished her career as one of just 10 players in Loyola history to record 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds.

Brown's work with Brittany Boeke helped her earn Horizon League All-Newcomer Team honors after averaging 9.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg as a freshman during the 2007-08 season and his teaching helped current sophomore Abby Skube become a key contributor down the stretch last season, highlighted by Skube's 17-point second half in Loyola's road win at UIC in February.

Brown arrived in Chicago after three seasons as an assistant coach at Central Michigan, where he helped mentor All-Mid-American Conference forward Ann Skufca in addition to raising the level of talent in the program through solid recruiting classes. Prior to his work at CMU, Brown served as an assistant coach at both IUPUI (2002-04) and Ferris State (1999-2002), where he has worked with four first team all-conference players, two conference Player of the Year winners and a pair of Mid-Continent Conference Defensive Player of the Year honorees.

In addition to earning accolades for their work on the floor, Brown's charges have also excelled in the classroom, where he has aided two First Team Academic All-Americans. Before making the jump into collegiate athletics, Brown started his coaching career in 1991 with a seven-year term at Iowa City High School in Iowa City, Iowa, taking over the reins as head coach in 1994.

A 1989 graduate of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Brown possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Simpson and earned his Master's degree in athletic administration from the University of Iowa in 1994.

Keisha Collins
Assistant Coach

After a stellar playing career at Loyola and six months as the program's Coordinator of Basketball Operations, Chicago native Keisha Collins begins her coaching career as an assistant coach. She becomes the first Loyola alumna to join the program's coaching staff since Sue Busiel (1990-93).

"I could not be more excited to announce the hiring of Keisha Collins as assistant coach," said Simpson. "As a player at Loyola, Keisha was a key factor in our recent resurgence and she understands the challenges our program faces in building a winner. Over the past year, Keisha proved herself to be a valuable asset to our program as Coordinator of Basketball Operations, and I have no doubt that she is capable and ready to help us move forward in her new role."

"As a life-long Chicagoan and former prep standout at Marian Catholic, Keisha understands the importance of attracting the best and brightest student-athletes from the Chicago area," continued Simpson. "On a regional and national level, Keisha's status as one of Loyola's most accomplished women's basketball graduates will enable her to speak from experience regarding the tremendous opportunities that Loyola can provide both academically and athletically."

Collins was a three-year starter at point guard for the Ramblers, transferring in after one season at Southern Indiana, and making a name for herself as both a scorer and a playmaker. She finished her Loyola career with 957 points and 345 rebounds and sits seventh on the Ramblers' all-time assists list with 371 helpers. A team captain each season, Collins started all 87 games in which she played, including 30 her first year at Loyola when she was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team after averaging 11.1 points and 4.4 assists per game, a figure that ranked second in the Horizon League. That season, Collins became the first player since Tracy Hoffmann (2001-02) to record 300 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists in a season and her all-around game continued to improve. She led the team in scoring (11.8 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg) again as a senior, helping the Ramblers to their best season since 2001-02.

Collins, who went to high school at Marian Catholic, graduated from Loyola in 2010 with a degree in Marketing. 

Chrissy Dizon
Coordinator of Basketball Operations

Loyola University Chicago head women's basketball coach Eric Simpson has announced the hiring of Chrissy Dizon as the program's Coordinator of Basketball Operations. Dizon, a Chicago native who enjoyed a standout playing career at UIC, comes to Rogers Park after serving as an assistant coach at Concordia last season. She replaces Keisha Collins, who was elevated to assistant coach last month.

"I am extremely pleased to announce Chrissy's addition to our staff," said Simpson. "She is an extraordinarily smart young woman who knows what it takes to be successful. Her on-court accomplishments speak for themselves and her experience and basketball acumen will be tremendous assets to our program as we continue to progress."

Dizon had a very successful playing career at UIC, quickly developing into one of the top point guards in the Horizon League during her tenure. A two-time All-Horizon League Second Team selection (2004, 2006), she was also selected to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team after her senior season after recording a team-best 77 steals. Her name is still featured prominently in the Flames' record book, as she is the school's all-time assists leader (454) and ranks second in steals (259) and 10th in scoring (1,182).

Upon graduation, Dizon continued her playing career overseas, playing one season for TSV Nordlingen in Division II of the German Bundesliga. She helped the club earn promotion as the team posted a 21-1 record en route to the league title.

She returned the following year to the States and served as a volunteer coach at North Park in 2008-09 before moving to Concordia last season.

A product of Latin High School, Dizon graduated from UIC in 2006 with a degree in economics.