One of the hallmarks of the Duke Basketball program has been its consistency but that all is about to change.
Chris Collins will be leaving Duke to take the head coaching position at Northwestern.
Associate head coach Chris Collins is leaving the nest, and has opted to take the head coaching position at Northwestern replacing Bill Carmody who was fired after 13 seasons in Evanston. In those 13 season the Wildcats not once made the NCAA Tournament, something that has alluded the program since the tournament came into being.
For several years it appeared that Northwestern might be poised to break through, but never did and last week enough was enough.
Collins’ has been a named mentioned in several job searches including the Illinois job that opened up last season. A native of Illinois, Collins had been recruited by the Illini before coming to Duke as a player in the in the mid 90s. He has been an assistant with the Blue Devils since the 2000 season and has been on the bench for three Final Fours and two National Championships as an assistant. He also played on the 1994 Duke team that was the national runner up.
The decision to leave Duke was one that Blue Devil fans have been anticipating for a while, much like the decision by Johnny Dawkins who left the program to take the head coaching job at Stanford.
Some fans expressed some skepticism over taking the Northwestern job, feeling that perhaps he could have held out for a bigger program. However, as a first time head coach the position with the Wildcats is a perfect opportunity to prove himself in a relatively pressure free environment.
Considering his predecessor was given 13 seasons to attempt to merely make the NCAA Tournament before he was fired, bodes well for Collins opportunity to be given the time he needs to build a program how he sees fit.
His experience at a university that values the importance of education should be invaluable as Northwestern is one of the stronger academic institutions in he country, much the same way Duke is, so Collins will be familiar with the challenges. He should also have some in roads into recruiting the Chicago/Illinois area, a place where Duke has pulled some of its better players over the years.
Overall the move is not surprising, and perhaps a bit overdue. Collins has been mentioned as a possible successor to Mike Krzyzewski but it is highly unlikely he would have been given that opportunity without getting his feet wet as an actual head coach.
If Collins can be even moderately successful and get the Wildcats over the hump and into the NCAA Tournament, then it would be hard for him not to be potentially on the short list to replace Krzyzewski when ever he decides to step down. With that not likely it is best for Collins to spread his wings and see if he can handle a program on his own.
Dawkins hasn’t achieved the success many thought he might or hoped he would have at Stanford and he has fallen out of favor with many in the Duke fan base as a possible successor, so Collins maybe the next within the Duke family to take that mantra as a possible “Duke guy” that might get a crack at the job.
In the mean time Collins will remain on the Blue Devils sidelines for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament but following the season he will assume the head coaching responsibilities at Northwestern.
Time will tell but we at the Duke Sports Blog certainly wish Collins all the best in his new endeavor, unless of course, Northwestern plays Duke.
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