Chris Collins Has Made A Solid Impression At Northwestern

It's kind of amazing how quickly Chris Collins has settled in and become the perfect coach for Northwestern, at least from a distance.

But he's a Chicago guy, he knows the city inside out, and most importantly, he sees Northwestern as a dream job.

Not many people would say that. Most have taken the job either as a starting point or as the final job in a career.

But Collins really made it clear that he loves the town, the school and the chance to do something significant with the program.

Northwestern, remember, has never been to the NCAA  tournament.

That's easy to understand when you remember that until about 1975 the tournament invited just 16 teams and that teams like Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan were dominant with Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois not far behind.

And of course the Big Ten didn't have a tournament. The only way in was to win the regular season race.

Now, though, the Big Ten could get seven or eight teams in and there's no particular reason why Northwestern can't be one of those.

And when it happens, Chris Collins is going to go from a popular young coach on the rise to an icon.