Wisconsin goes down to Northwestern

[dcZONAfan]

I am not following? I was impressed with the size of those players... doesn't mean they are any good this year... but I could see them making a push next year (which is why I mentioned NEXT year).

Am I missing something? How does that help my argument for this year exactly?

And I hate FSU with a passion.. so don't think I would WANT them to be successful. Just have to acknowledge the big guy from Africa. Not even sure how long he has been playing ball...

i was putting down Minnesota's nonconference schedule because Minn was their best win. You quoted that part of my argument, so i assumed you were rebutting my claim that FSU isn't very good. that's why i thought you mentioning them being good next year seemed strange. Now I get why you did that. It was just confusing as all hell

 

[tshirt]

arguably the #1 university in the West (Stanford), Midwest (Northwestern) and East (Harvard) all have former Duke players as their basketball coaches (Duke is the #1 school in the South)

Northwestern’s academic standards and its financial support for basketball could also be challenges for Collins, Izzo said.

“No promises were made to me,” Collins said. “But I know the administration here wants to make this relevant.”

 

[SEC Official]

i was putting down Minnesota's nonconference schedule because Minn was their best win. You quoted that part of my argument, so i assumed you were rebutting my claim that FSU isn't very good. that's why i thought you mentioning them being good next year seemed strange. Now I get why you did that. It was just confusing as all hell

LOL no worries.. .sorry I wasn't clear. I was confused too. I just saw FSU and it made me remember that behemoth of a center from Nigeria or somewhere...

Sorry about that... wasn't implying anything I can see them being good in the future since the kid is only a Sophmore.. but they can suck forever and I wouldn't be upset!

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

I still remember Givens of Kentucky beating Duke in the Championship and scoring at will. That shit never leaves you.

I'll probably see him at my friend's Superbowl party on Sunday. I'll be sure to tell him you said that.

 

[douggie]

I'll probably see him at my friend's Superbowl party on Sunday. I'll be sure to tell him you said that.

I'm sure he'll be amused by what I say. Tell him he can go fuck himself.

 

[TrollyMcTroller]

I'm sure he'll be amused by what I say. Tell him he can go fuck himself.

I don't know if amused is the word I would use, but let's just say that everyone likes to be remembered. Is he your Leatner? I'm not going to needle you about it (hopefully we're past that now) but that does explain a lot if so.

 

[douggie]

I really don't have any animosity over any one specific athlete who "went off" for a career night against Duke. Or any other poster from another website forum either. That UK-Duke game was an opportunity that Duke won't have back. But hey, that's basketball.

 

[BigAppleBadger]

I have no explanation for this.

 

[tshirt]

New York Times
January 24, 2014

The morning after he earned his first Big Ten Conference win last week, a triumph over in-state rival #23 Illinois, Northwestern Coach Chris Collins sat in his office, a sparsely decorated room that overlooks a practice court inside Welsh-Ryan Arena. Collins was all smiles as his gaze shifted to one of his office walls, painted Wildcat purple and empty save for a few hooks on the wall. “We’ll have to get some pictures up there from last night," Collins said.

Collins, 39, grew up just a 10-minute drive down the road while his father, Doug, coached Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the late 1980s. Chris was perhaps the luckiest 12-year-old in the world; before Bulls games, he laced up new Nikes and delivered them to Jordan.

In 1992, Collins was named Illinois’s Mr. Basketball while a senior at Glenbrook North High School. Collins chose Duke over other basketball powerhouses like Illinois and Florida.
As Collins weighed his recruiting options his junior year, Northwestern turned in a 5-23 season, 0-18 in the Big Ten. He made a visit and caught a few games, but as Doug Collins said: “He wanted the bright lights. That wasn’t Northwestern.”

Now Chris Collins is the face of the program. His Ivy League haircut and boyish features are splashed everywhere: on pocket schedules, media guides and a life-size decal on the wall of the N Club, a hospitality suite at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Collins has toured the Chicago area, promoting his team and rebranding the program, as he described it. He threw a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field and appeared at a Blackhawks game — anything for visibility and a foothold in the talent-rich Chicago area.

In Evanston, Collins has assembled an exclusively Chicago staff. He plucked Armon Gates from Loyola. Another assistant, Brian James, was Collins’s high school coach. Patrick Baldwin, also on the staff, played on that 5-23 Northwestern team.
“Because we’re all from here, there’s an ownership we have,” Baldwin said.

Collins has also secured a highly regarded recruiting class for next year, including Victor Law, a top-100 player from Chicago.
While at Duke, Collins returned to the Chicago suburbs to lure a top recruit, Jon Scheyer, to Durham in 2006. Last year, he helped Krzyzewski land another Chicago prize, Jabari Parker. Collins said he knew most of the high school coaches around town because he had played against many of them, and others had coached against him when he was a player.

Collins is settling back into the neighborhoods he knew as a youngster. He bought a $2.5 million home near campus. His parents bought one, too. Doug Collins is at nearly every home game.

Still, the road to relevance is long, Northwestern has never reached the N.C.A.A. tournament, a record of futility stretching over more than seven decades. Absent a miracle, Northwestern will not break its tournament drought this season. Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena has not had much of a face-lift since it opened in 1952.

But just for a second, Chris Collins closes his eyes. He imagines Northwestern in a Big Ten championship game, cutting down nets. He sees the tournament selection show and hears an announcer call Northwestern. “I’m a dreamer,” Collins said.