Indiana basketball coaching search profile: Chris Collins

Mike Woodson will step down as IU basketball coach after the 2024-25 season. Athletic director Scott Dolson is currently searching for the program’s 31st head coach.

Inside the Hall will examine many of the candidates being discussed for the job over the coming days and weeks. Our 12th profile takes a look at Northwestern coach Chris Collins.

Previously: Dusty May, Scott Drew, Mick Cronin, Greg McDermott, Buzz Williams, T.J. Otzelberger, Ben McCollum, Tommy Lloyd, Brad Brownell, Chris Beard, Will Wade

Now in his 12th season in Evanston, Chris Collins has elevated the Northwestern program in one of the country’s most difficult leagues.

A 50-year-old native of Northbrook, Illinois, Collins was a McDonald’s All-American in high school and played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 1992 through 1996. A 6-foot-2 guard, Collins averaged 9.1 points for the Blue Devils and shot 38.8 percent on 3s for his career.

The son of former No. 1 NBA draft pick and longtime coach Doug Collins, Collins played professionally for two years in Finland after graduating from Duke before starting his coaching career.

His first stop was an assistant coaching job in the WNBA for the Detroit Shock, where he spent one season under Nancy Lieberman. Collins departed the WNBA for Seton Hall, where he worked as an assistant for Tommy Amaker for two seasons.

Collins returned to his alma mater in 2000 to work under Krzyzewski, first as an assistant and later as the program’s associate coach. He was on the Duke bench for two national championships, eight ACC tournament titles and four ACC regular-season titles. During that same period, Collins also worked as a coach and scout for USA basketball’s senior national team from 2006 through 2012.

After 13 seasons on the Duke bench, Collins was lured home by Northwestern Athletic Director Jim Phillips to lead the Wildcat program in the spring of 2013. Northwestern, a traditional Big Ten doormat, had never reached the NCAA tournament before hiring Collins.

In year four of his tenure in Evanston, Collins led the Wildcats to its first ever appearance in March Madness as a No. 8 seed. Northwestern, led by 25 points from Indiana native Bryant McIntosh, beat Vanderbilt in the first round before falling to top-seeded Gonzaga, 79-73, in the round of 32. The Zags reached the national championship game that season. Northwestern won 24 games that season.

Unfortunately for Collins, he couldn’t capitalize on the success of that 24-win campaign and Northwestern had losing records in the next five seasons.

At a program with rigorous admission standards, a limited recruiting budget, and one of the lower financial commitments to basketball in the league, Collins kept grinding. In the 2022-23 season, the Wildcats were back in the NCAA tournament. Northwestern finished second in the Big Ten in the 2022-23 season and Collins was named the league’s coach of the year for the turnaround.

Led by fourth-year senior Boo Buie, Northwestern earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, knocking off Boise State in the opening round. The Wildcats fell to No. 2 seed UCLA, 68-63, in the round of 32.

The Wildcats were back in the NCAA tournament in 2024, his third trip to March Madness in 11 seasons in Evanston. After earning a pair of regular-season wins against AP top-10 opponents and winning 12 Big Ten games, Northwestern earned a No. 9 seed in the Big Dance. The Wildcats beat Florida Atlantic and Dusty May in the opening round before falling to eventual national champion UConn in the round of 32.

Northwestern has been set back by injuries to Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach this season, but is still in the top 50 of KenPom entering this week’s Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis. Northwestern beat Indiana 79-70 on Jan. 22 and has won five straight against the Hoosiers dating back to the 2021-22 season. The Wildcats are the No. 13 seed and will play Minnesota on Wednesday.

Whether Collins will get serious consideration from Dolson is not known — the IU athletic director is running a buttoned-up search process — but dismissing him as a candidate based solely on his record at Northwestern would be short-sighted.

That’s not to say Collins is a perfect candidate or will even get a strong look, but once the Hoosiers get past the “home run” hires, every name on the list will have drawbacks. For Collins, the sticking point could be the number of losing seasons he’s had in Evanston — seven thus far.

On the positive side, Collins is widely respected among his peers as an excellent tactician on the sidelines. He’s elevated the Northwestern program despite having one of the league’s least talented rosters on an annual basis. The Wildcats are on track for their third straight finish in the top 50 of KenPom, which is no small feat for a program with Northwestern’s resources.

At Indiana, Collins would be flush with NIL and revenue-sharing resources and he has plenty of experience recruiting the country’s most talented players from his days at Duke.

Category: Coaching search

Filed to: Chris Collins