Big Ten Basketball: Ranking all 14 head coaches in 2023 offseason

By Joey Loose | Apr 17, 2023

Feb 16, 2021; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter fist bumps Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo after the game at Mackey Arena. The Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Michigan State Spartans 75 to 65. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /

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Big Ten Basketball Northwestern Wildcats head coach Chris Collins Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Chris Collins – Northwestern

A native of Chicago’s northern suburbs, Collins made his way to Duke in the mid-90’s and played for Coach K and the Blue Devils for four years. He spent a few years in coaching, including under Tommy Amaker at Seton Hall, before joining Coach K’s bench at Duke back in 2000. While back in Durham, Collins helped the Blue Devils to national championships in 2001 and 2010 before beginning his own head coaching career a few years later.

Northwestern brought Collins back home in 2013, inheriting one of the most unsuccessful college basketball programs in the country. Collins sits under .500 at the school and certainly isn’t moving mountains, but what he’s done has been extremely impressive nonetheless. In 2017, he led Northwestern to their first-ever appearance and win in the NCAA Tournament and repeated the feat this past season.

Collins rightfully earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors this season, tying for 2nd place and getting another NCAA Tournament win after many had written the Wildcats off before the season began. If you look at the whole picture, it’s hard to be super impressive with the record, but there’s more to consider than just the pure numbers. Collins is responsible for all of Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament history and is coming off his best head coaching performance to date.

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