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Courtesy: Duke Photography
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Chris Collins
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Courtesy: Duke Sports Information
Release: 06/30/2005
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Former Blue Devil player Chris Collins joined the Duke coaching staff as an assistant coach on July 22, 2000 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in the summer of 2008.
Collins’ nine-year resume at Duke includes an overall record of 262-55, six ACC Tournament championships, three ACC regular season titles, five in-season tournament titles and most importantly, the national championship in 2001.
Collins also served as a court coach and scout for Mike Krzyzewski, assisting the USA Basketball Senior National Team staff with on-court duties as well as game preparation from 2006 through the program’s gold medal performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
His first season as a coach in Durham could not have been better, as the Blue Devils won the 2001 national championship with an 82-72 victory over Arizona in Minneapolis. Collins, who works primarily with Duke’s backcourt players, saw guard Jason Williams be named a unanimous first team All-America and the National Player of the Year by the NABC. Chris Duhon, a freshman under Collins’ tutelage in 2001, was named the ACC Rookie of the Year.
Collins’ influence was never felt more than prior to the NCAA Championship game against Arizona. Collins told Mike Dunleavy, who was coming off a poor shooting performance in Duke’s victory over Maryland in the national semifinals, to be aggressive against the Wildcats in the title game.
“I just talked to him about going out and being aggressive. If you miss a shot, so what?”
Dunleavy responded, drilling a team-best 21 points, including a historical spurt of three three-point field goals in a 45-second span in the second half to put Duke ahead by 10 points.
“To see him go out the next day and play with that courage and take those shots, just take over the game, was such a gratifying moment for me.”
And to the Blue Devil faithful as well.
In 2001-02, Collins’ second season at Duke was also impressive as the Blue Devils posted a 31-4 record, won the ACC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and were ranked No. 1 in the nation in the final Associated Press poll. Williams, one of Collins’ understudies, earned National Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive year and became just one of seven repeat winners of that prestigious honor. Williams also became Duke’s second two-time first team consensus All-America, joining Johnny Dawkins as the only Blue Devil to accomplish that feat.
The 2002-03 season was just as special as the staff led a team with six freshmen to a 26-7 record, a fifth consecutive ACC Tournament championship and the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight year. Guard play continued to be a strength for Duke as Chris Duhon (third team All-ACC), J.J. Redick (third team All-ACC and Freshman All-America) and Daniel Ewing (ACC Tournament MVP) all received individual recognition throughout the season.
In 2003-04, Duke returned to the Final Four for the second time in Collins’ Blue Devil coaching career. Two of his backcourt players, Duhon and Redick, earned All-America and All-ACC recognition. The Blue Devils went 31-6 overall, won the regular season ACC title and played in their sixth consecutive ACC Tournament Championship Game before advancing to San Antonio and the Final Four.
Collins helped the Blue Devils to a 26-7 overall slate that included the ACC Tournament crown and yet another berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2004-05. Redick was named the National Player of the Year while Ewing was a second round choice of the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2005 NBA Draft.
In the 2005-06 season, Collins’ watched his star pupil, Redick, register one of the most impressive scoring seasons in Duke history. Redick ranked second in the NCAA with a 26.8 points per game scoring average, while setting the Duke and ACC career scoring records and the NCAA career three-point field goals record. He was a consensus National Player of the Year and a unanimous first team All-America for the 32-4 Blue Devils. Duke also captured the NIT Season Tip-Off, ACC regular season and ACC Tournament championships in 2005-06.
“Coach Collins has really helped my development as a player,” says Redick, a two-time National Player of the Year. “He is a former player so he knows a lot of the tricks of the trade and he has taught me a few things that have really helped me, whether it is being able to pick up fouls when we are in the bonus or coming off screens.”
Two of the guards under the tutelage of Collins were recognized for their efforts by the ACC in 2006-07 as DeMarcus Nelson was named to the All-Defensive team and Jon Scheyer earned All-Freshman team honors. The three starting guards for the Blue Devils all averaged over 10.0 points per game.
In 2007-08, Collins helped senior DeMarcus Nelson elevate his game and garner several honors along the way. Nelson was tabbed the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and also earned NABC third team All-America, first team All-ACC and ACC All-Defensive team honors. Point guard Greg Paulus was also coached by Collins and earned third team All-ACC recognition. Four of Duke’s guards averaged in double figures in scoring on the year.
Last season, Collins guided Gerald Henderson to several All-America and first team All-ACC honors. Henderson increased his scoring to a team-high 16.5 points per game while scoring 19.8 points per game in conference play. Collins also coached Jon Scheyer in his transition to point guard late in the year, which led to an ACC Tournament championship and NCAA Sweet 16 birth. Scheyer averaged 15.0 points per game for the season while scoring in double figures in each of the final 12 games. He was named ACC Tournament MVP after averaging 21.7 points per game in the tournament.
Before returning to his alma mater, Collins served as an assistant coach at Seton Hall for two years with Tommy Amaker, a Duke standout himself from 1984-87 and now the head coach at Harvard. In 1999-2000, Collins was part of a staff that guided the Pirates to a 22-10 record and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Seton Hall, Collins spent the 1997-98 season as an assistant with the WNBA’s Detroit Shock.
As a player, Collins played professional basketball in Finland during the 1996-97 season, leading the league in scoring.
While at Duke, Collins was a team captain as a senior and four-year letterman from 1993-96. He still ranks ninth among Duke’s all-time leaders in three-point field goals (209) and eighth in attempts (539). Collins averaged 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a collegian. He earned second team All-ACC honors as a senior.
Collins and Stan Brunson formed a Duke senior class that had 83 total victories, three NCAA Tournament bids, one Final Four appearance, two ACC regular season championships, an ACC Tournament title, and two in-season tournament championships (the 1992 Maui Classic and the 1995 Carrs Great Alaska Shootout).
As a senior in 1996, Collins had his most productive season, leading the Blue Devils in three-point field goals (79), three-point percentage (.441), free throws made (83) and attempted (115), assists (132) and steals (37). Collins also ranked second on the team by averaging 16.3 points per game. He was among the ACC leaders in scoring (10th), assists (fourth), field goal percentage (.467, seventh) and free throw percentage (.722, 10th).
Collins is the son of former NBA head coach and all-star, Doug Collins, who is currently the lead television analyst for TNT’s coverage of the NBA. The Northbrook, Ill., native joins former Duke standouts Steve Wojciechowski (associate head coach), Nate James (assistant coach) and Chris Carrawell (graduate assistant/head team manager) as previous Blue Devil captains on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff. Collins is a 1996 graduate of Duke with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
Collins, 35, and his wife Kim reside in Durham with their two children — Ryan and Kate.
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