{"id":51534,"date":"2017-02-14T22:21:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-15T04:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=51534"},"modified":"2017-02-15T09:57:32","modified_gmt":"2017-02-15T15:57:32","slug":"northwesterns-dance-with-basketball-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/northwesterns-dance-with-basketball-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwestern’s dance with basketball history"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mark Singer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Standing in the same arena of his final high school game some 25 years ago, \u00a0Chris Collins can\u2019t help but smile when he considers the success of his current team. The rollicking atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan Arena these days, unthinkable until a few months ago, brings the Northwestern coach back to 1992 when he led Glenbrook North to its first-ever supersectional.<\/p>\n

The former Illinois Mr. Basketball missed a potential game-winner in triple overtime of that game a quarter century ago, but he cherishes the memory of that electric feeling on the Wildcats’ homecourt.<\/p>\n

Now, a quarter century later, Collins’ team has Welsh-Ryan filled regularly, this time with Northwestern fans looking to be a part of history as the team chases its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowds have been great,\u201d he said. \u201cI always envisioned it. I likened it back to my last high school game I played in here and it was sold out. It was so loud. It was a great environment, and that\u2019s what I envisioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 19-6, 8-4 Wildcats are one win away from tying the single-season school record, and are a near-lock to make the NCAA Tournament after beating No. 7 Wisconsin last Saturday.<\/p>\n

When Collins took over as head coach in 2013, he was concerned the Wildcats wouldn\u2019t win a game in the upcoming season if star guard Drew Crawford left the team. Collins remembers the difficulty in selling a Northwestern basketball program without any sense of legacy to recruits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were no banners in here,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was nothing to hang our hat on for tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Blue Devil and assistant to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski came to Northwestern to create the team\u2019s legacy. His goals go far beyond merely making the NCAA Tournament, but he realizes what an important step it is to the program to participate in the tournament for the first time in 78 years.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Making the NCAA Tournament] is on everybody\u2019s mind because it\u2019s historical and people want to see it be done,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019d be a big step in our process, whenever that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northwestern\u2019s second-leading scorer, Bryant McIntosh, is familiar with making history. He won two state championships at Greensburg High in Indiana, the first titles in school history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is obviously a lot different \u2026,\u201d the junior said, \u201cbut yeah, I think I\u2019ve been a part of history before.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIntosh actually looked at Northwestern\u2019s lack of accomplishments as a plus in his recruiting process. He said he liked that \u201cthere\u2019s no legacy around here, there\u2019s no jerseys hanging around. \u2026 Here I give myself an opportunity to do something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIntosh\u2019s teammate, sophomore Vic Law, can\u2019t recall ever being part of a historic team. He\u2019s hoping to change that next month on Selection Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are lucky enough to get there, and we take care of business, then it will be a special time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: The Northwestern men’s basketball team practicing at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Feb. 14. (Mark Singer\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark Singer Standing in the same arena of his final high school game some 25 years ago, \u00a0Chris Collins can\u2019t help but smile when he considers the success of his current team. The rollicking atmosphere at Welsh-Ryan Arena these days, unthinkable until a few months ago, brings the Northwestern coach back to 1992 when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":51536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3516],"tags":[597,711,2531,137],"class_list":["post-51534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2017","tag-basketball","tag-history","tag-ncaa-tournament","tag-northwestern"],"yoast_head":"\nNorthwestern's dance with basketball history - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/northwesterns-dance-with-basketball-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northwestern's dance with basketball history - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Mark Singer Standing in the same arena of his final high school game some 25 years ago, \u00a0Chris Collins can\u2019t help but smile when he considers the success of his current team. 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