Being a secondary NU fan, I hope you’re right. But to contradict you, if he got fired, would he stay in Chicago because it’s his home?
Gragg promises Collins extension
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Entirely different issue, and not really relevant because Gragg has made it clear that Chris is going to be extended and will not be fired. 😂
As long as we keep Hankwitz oops Lowery, we will be competitive. This was the missing link. Props to CCC for getting him
All I’m saying is “home” can be very subjective depending on circumstances. 🤷♂️
Hankwitz was responsible for the defensive game plan and for all in-game decisions with input from Fitz. Lowery introduced some concepts that have made the defense much more aggressive and effective in creating turnovers. But Collins is making almost every decision during games. Lowery sits on the bench and waits for Collins to ask him something. Huge difference. Collins has taken the team to the tournament with two almost completely different coaching staffs. I am confident that we would be able to continue to run a similar defense without Lowery. It’s not nearly as complicated as trying to defend Ohio State in football.
I dunno. For the near-term, I think it’s a very reasonable goal to have any player who commits to NU make an NCAA Tournament during their time here.
The key is what happens in the down years. Can NU establish a floor of the NIT? Establish more consistency with no bad losses? Establish a greater ability to close out close games?
Basically I just want to be in the bubble conversation the majority of years, with the occasional great year. Not all that different from the expectation of a floor of 6-6 and a bowl in football, and sometimes a Big Ten West title when things break right.
In my case, I came home to practice law when the opportunity arose, just as Chris chose to come home when the opportunity arose to coach NU. HE IS NOT GOING TO BE FIRED ANYTIME SOON,
Nobody’s saying he’s getting fired. This season was incredible. The guy deserves a lifetime contract! But, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility he’ll accept an offer at another school.
Please no. Just count your blessings for this season and let him be on his way and hire someone who knows how to coach basketball.
Northwestern AD Derrick Gragg: We plan to give Chris Collins a contract extension
Northwestern plans to reward Chris Collins with a contract extension at the conclusion of the season, Northwestern AD Derrick Gragg exclusively told College Hoops Today on Monday. “I’m extremely proud of him” Gragg told College Hoops Today on Monday morning regarding Collins. “We obviously want...collegehoopstoday.com
Interesting timing ...
"angsty"? I've never been "angsty" in my entire life. I'm just saying that you don't need to keep repeating the same line of thought, we got you the first 6 times you posted it.
I merely met the original post where it was, which was that CCC should switch so he can lengthen his stay at the P5 level. I agree that’s a dumb assumption for CCC’s position, but even if we assume that’s true it doesn’t logically follow he’d want to leave NU as a result.
I agree except for the last sentence. As Jimmy Dugan once said, if it was easy, everybody would do it. This flawed team has changed the identity of the program. We can't make a shot, and yet, we won 21 games and finished 2nd. Playing against NU is like playing basketball on a sand volleyball court
1 to 5 has turned, in many ways, into a way to classify height.
Russian bot fomenting social discord
Was talking with Fred Hoiberg’s wife and daughter in Omaha last September and they made it very clear they don’t relish moving around. They are good friends with the Collins family and certainly miss Chicago (daughter now lives here). I think CCC would much rather stay with some stability given that this is his home.
I was glad to see Nebraska finish strong and hopefully secure Fred’s near term future. It’s Nebby so you don’t know but he’s had a Collins-like resurgence that might placate the naysayers.
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It's is what everyone suspected would happen but he just made it public a little early. If he had not made the earlier comments, he might not have had to do it. And with his new found wealth, perhaps Collins could even fund the NIL to keep Audige and Buie at NU
Need to give him at least a 3 year extension to take him to 5. I could see it needing to be as much as 5 years extension taking it to 7
Until recently when the uncertainty of the situation hurt. With an extension, that will hopefully improve but it needs to be significant enough of an extension. Likely at least 3 and maybe as much as 5 to take him to 5-7
Basketball is not that complex. You either take away the 3 or crash the paint. You have very limited tactical options. It’s more on the individual players. Tactically everyone can do it. The major thing a good defensive coach can do is build a culture that is defense first and get players to buy in. That’s the part not everyone can do.
We also have the players to execute a very good defense. Two top tier perimeter defender in Berry and Audige. A strong post defender in Nicholson. TVH makes a lot of plus defense plays as well with his mobility for a big. A long 4 who can guard the perimeter and is excellent at help D. A pesky 3 who can play the 4 and is excellent at switching over during the post double NU likes to implement. Buie is the worst perimeter defender in the starting lineup (1-3) and he’s at least an above average defender.
The staff did very well getting the players who have the ability. Getting them to buy in and the team understands the defense is where their wins are made. That’s the biggest thing. It’s not some major tactical change. Players have bought in. They have a post presence defensively. Players hit the weight room in the off-season. Defense is a want/effort thing.
TLDR- Tactics is not the hard/complex thing. Getting players to fully buy in and the athletes to execute is.
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If VHS is so good, why did DVD beat him out for playing time?
Pretty much the way playing against Rutgers has been since Pickell got there. It isn't pretty but it gets the job done
Sometimes it's hard for our imaginary friends on the internet to accept new evidence that shows they might not know everything.
True, I expect the buzzer beating 2 pointer from Ochai Agbaji on April 1 at about 6 PM will leave Boo with plenty of motivation to come back.
VHS got complacent after beating the pants off Beta......
5 years is a long stretch with no postseason.
Collins got a 6th chance which may not have happened as many other Power 5-6 programs, but he and the team clearly answered the call this year.
At the end of the day, this is a results business. Running a clean and respectable program is important here, but results still matter and still trump that because we are a rich/"have" program even with academic restrictions and past history and a smaller fanbase. We still have financial resources that maybe only 15-20 programs in the country can match. Financial differences in the future should only favor us more if we get to a world where the Power 5 schools pay players out of conference TV deals and other methods like that.
Gragg rightly made our higher expectations explicit and the changes we saw to hoops/football staff made clear that if we're not having results, there has to be changes.
Collins can have a 20+ year career here but it likely will require that the longest drought lasts around 4-5 years. That's just the reality of this business.
Which has been par for the course for every NU bball coach save for Collins’ tournament runs.
Sure but how many of those years were we spending at the rate we're spending now?
Everything's way different right now in terms of financial resources, and things will only become more differentiated in the future (likely to the benefit of schools in the Big Ten/SEC).
But I don’t think those differences will benefit Northwestern. NIL particularly. NU will always have their hands tied behind their back competing as a power school, and that will be especially true going forward as mid and low major schools continue to get more and more tv airplay, and our academic standards remain where they are.
