Extremely complimentary in post game and seems like a good fit for the school.
But he’s a Dukie!!
But he’s a Dukie!!
I hate liking Chris Collins
- Thread starter LarryMullenJr.
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Could be worse... At least he doesn't coach Neb
😂”other than that he stinks “ LOL
Collins says he feels old because he almost came to Iowa to play with Kenyon Murray.
I thought he was a class act. If he coached at Iowa I would not be embarrassed for sure.
He's a quality guy. Northwestern is lucky, he represents himself and the school well.
Talked and congratulated all the Srs. ( esp JBo ) and never even tried to bitch slap one of our assistants....
Chris played in Chicago suburbs and went to Duke, 92-96, same time Kenyon was at Iowa so they probably visited Iowa at the same time. Chris is a good egg and think his time at NW has been a pretty humbling experience for him. It will be interesting to see what happens as their head coach.
Coach at Northwestern and see how that works out for you Sparky. I’d take him in a second.
They visited on different weekends, but played against each other all 4 years they were in college.
I honestly thought Northwestern was going to be way better than they are right now. It only takes a couple players to turn around a program. I thought Collins would be the guy to potentially do that. Duke pedigree and thought to be an up and comer, recruiting for a similar prestigious university with an urban environment. Really thought they could be the Duke of the Midwest. They were ranked and made the tourney a few years back and I thought that was going to be the launching point. Never happened though.
NW is very competitive on a sustained basis now,which is an elevation of their program from the past.
But breaking into the middle tier in the league on a consistent basis is very tough. I really doubt they could do much better than Collins.
But breaking into the middle tier in the league on a consistent basis is very tough. I really doubt they could do much better than Collins.
I think part of Northwestern's problem is that it plays in an absolute grind of a conference. When Wisconsin is the conference champ, you know that the top isn't like that of the ACC, B12, SEC, or even the PAC. But the middle and bottom of the conference are much stronger than any other conference and that's why we hardly ever see any teams lose two or fewer games in conference play. If Northwestern played in the ACC this year, they may well be batting north of .500 in conference play and in contention for an at-large berth.
Don't be fooled by NU's mediocre record. The Wildcats are much more competitive than they used to be, and gave Illinois (both times), Purdue, and Wisconsin all they wanted. They are just a break or two from nabbing a couple of very nice conference wins.
Iowa put on a show last night, and as impressive as they looked they were just moderately successful with their shots. NU couldn't buy a bucket in the first half if Menards was selling them for a nickel. Had some of those shots gone in, it could have been a much tighter game. Hats off to Connor - glue guy no more. He was a legit assassin behind the arc last night. It was a fun night - especially for those seniors. If he can keep up this kind of shooting, and Iowa keeps firing on all cylinders - look out.
In the early 90s Iowa had a reputation for winning big, but Duke had a reputation for winning bigger. I believe Duke either just won its first natty, or was on the cusp of winning it.
This was also before the Doc Tom fatigue set in. The last of Raveling's recruits left the building about a season or two prior, but Davis simply wouldn't or couldn't recruit at GR's level. The 90s overall was a pretty "meh" decade for Iowa hoops. Not great, not awful, just okay. Not unlike the 2010s under Fran.
This was also before the Doc Tom fatigue set in. The last of Raveling's recruits left the building about a season or two prior, but Davis simply wouldn't or couldn't recruit at GR's level. The 90s overall was a pretty "meh" decade for Iowa hoops. Not great, not awful, just okay. Not unlike the 2010s under Fran.
The Collins love is a bit over the top, in my opinion. He got Northwestern to the tournament in 2017, which I guess means he can coach there forever. His records since:
- 15-17 (2018)
- 13-19 (2019)
- 8-22 (2020)
- 9-15 (2021)
- 13-15 (this year)
Fans of opposing teams like him because he is complementary and doesn't act like a douche canoe. I have no reason to believe he's not a good guy or even that he's not a good coach. But he just hasn't done a fantastic job at Northwestern.
To be fair I didn't gush over Collins. I don't think he's done a terrible job considering how tough it is to coach in Evanston, but he's not the hoops equivalent of Fitz either. Who out there would be a definite upgrade over Collins? At least one that's genuinely interested in coaching at NU?
NU still lags behind the rest of the B1G when it comes to support, facilities, and recruiting. It's literally surrounded by viable D1 talent, but most kids in the Chicago area go to the U of Illinois or out of state. Collins doesn't strike me as a snake oil salesman so unless they get desperate and get someone like Calipari or Pearl who's a bit more willing to overlook things and nab a McDonald's All American or two every recruiting cycle, they're going to have to try and develop their 3-star athletes and hope they become B1G-caliber starters by the time they're juniors. Unfortunately, it's harder to do that in MBB than for CFB. A stud 19 year old freshman may already be NBA ready and can show it the moment he steps foot on campus; a stud 19 year old freshman running back or receiver would be eaten alive in the NFL. In football, the amount of practice, film studying, and physical training jumps immensely between high school and college. And it only increases further between college and the pros. While there are increased physical and mental demands when progressing from high school hoops to college to the NBA, it's not as pronounced. KG, Kobe (who was actually smart enough to go to college on his own merits), and LBJ proved that it's possible to succeed when jumping from prep-to-pro.
Anyway I digress. NU is going to have to sell its soul to the devil to have success like Duke or Gonzaga and I don't think they're willing to sacrifice their principles to do that. They won't be a power under Collins, and they won't be a power under any other coach.
Worse record than the last 5 years of Carmondy. Hes not a good coach. That 18 team brought back a ton from the tourney team, started the year ranked, and completely bottomed out.
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According to 247sports, fwtw, Collins is getting the same quality of recruit that McCaffery is most years. Maybe McCaffery is better at player development.
Yeah, the Duke part nauseates me, but he appears to be a very good man/coach.
He and I got to know each other being on same McDonald’s AA team. He was close to coming to Iowa. Then we played each other every year while in college. @Cameron, @Carver, @Rainbow Classic and @Great Alaska Shootout. We were 1-3, but every game was a good one!! Good dude. I tried to deliver KnK to him at NW. 🤷🏾♂️
We're glad you failed on that delivery!
Thanks for sharing Kenyon - I also remember that the Illini were in the mix, until Lou Henson forced Chris' hand and then they dropped from contention. By the way, glad you choose us over Michigan....
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