Coach Collins: Our Guy

I remember where I was on that Saturday in April of 2008 when the bottom line on ESPN turned red. There was breaking news in Men’s College Basketball and as I read it, my heart sank. Johnny Dawkins was leaving DUKE to become the Head Coach at Stanford. I was standing in a bar in New York City and I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. I had suffered this same feeling before around this same time of year in 1999 when I read that Elton Brand, William Avery and Corey Maggette were leaving DUKE to go to the NBA and also in 1997 when I read that Tommy Amaker was packing his bags and going to Seton Hall. And now, here I am again… getting ready to watch another good-bye unfold: Chris Collins is leaving to become the Head Coach at Northwestern. This is the guy whom I watched play from my seat in Cameron Indoor Stadium starting when I was 11 years old. This is the guy with the beautiful face but an even more beautiful three-point shot. This is the guy who never faltered in his abilities as a player, his leadership or his love for his school; even when the wins weren’t coming in droves as they once had. This is the guy who ranks 11th in all-time three-point field goals at DUKE. This is the guy who returned to his school in 2000 to add another “C” to his name: Coach. This is the guy who went toe to toe (and nose to nose) with UNC’s Matt Doherty during a heated rivalry game. This is the guy who is credited with getting the name Scheyer on the back of a DUKE jersey. This is the guy who is revered by many other DUKE greats like Mike Dunleavy, Jason Williams, Chris Duhon, J.J. Redick, DeMarcus Nelson, Gerald Henderson, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Austin Rivers, Seth Curry, Tyler Thornton and Quinn Cook as the person who guided them to the players that they became. This is the guy who has 8 ACC Tournament Championships, 4 ACC Regular Season Titles and 2 NCAA National Championships under his belt. This is the guy who worked first-hand with the USA National Teams that won the FIBA World Championship in 2010 and Gold Medals in the Olympics in 2008 and 2012. This is that guy and that guy is family.
Family: It’s the same reason why it was so hard to watch Amaker and Dawkins move on and why it is always so hard to lose players early to the draft; these guys aren’t just anybody- they are family. The camera shoots over to the DUKE bench in the middle of a game and you see our 7 players in DUKE uniforms. But, then the camera pans a little to the left and you see our 4 former players sitting in suits surrounding Coach K. This isn’t a team of one guy from here and another from there and another from somewhere over there. This is a team of family members. This is a group that shares common pasts and common goals for the future. And now, again, we are losing a member of our family. It will never be the same to look at the DUKE bench and not see our former #20 there. It will never be the same to have another Coach doing our halftime media interviews. It will never be the same to see the team photo and not see him there. But, we must recognize and always remember how lucky we have been for the past 21 years and also know that as lucky as Northwestern is to be getting Coach Chris Collins, no matter what; he will always be our guy. DUKE Basketball Never Stops and DUKE family is for life.
Congratulations, Coach Collins. You deserve only the very best.