Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Senior Night
2/21/2018 9:14:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUSports.com Special Contributor
They were a part of the first recruiting class which signed on with a young guy who had just made the longest journey there is — that 12-inch journey from the chair of an assistant coach to that of a head coach.
"I can't even put into words what that group has meant to me," says that guy, Chris Collins. "As a coach who had never been a head coach in college before, they were the first guys that said, 'I believe in you. I want to be part of this. I want to help build this program.'"
"I was looking at schools that were good in academics and were high in basketball and Coach Collins came to me and said, 'I want you to be the first to do something,'" says forward Gavin Skelly, explaining why he took that leap. "It's kind of hard to say no to that. How many times are you able to be the first?"
"There was an attraction to be part of the first," says point guard Bryant McIntosh. "And there was also an attraction to leave your own legacy. I feel I've left a pretty remarkable legacy here."
"My parents, since I was younger, wanted me to come here," says the wing Scottie Lindsey. "At the time they hired Coach Collins, he had a good message. He had a plan for what he wanted to do, and I wanted to be part of something great."
So together they embarked on a journey.
"The journey's been up and down for sure," says Lindsey. "There have been a lot of struggles, and there have been some good parts, but all of it has been a great learning experience. Especially going from a teenager to a man, learning how hard you have to work to be successful and the type of things you're going to go through in life … There were times when I was close to having a different attitude when things were very hard. But there was something in me and my teammates that always made us want to keep going further and working hard."
"It's been a long journey," says Gavin Skelly. "Freshman year we lost 10 games in a row. We didn't win a game in January. I remember that. Going back to my dorm with Bryant every night being like, 'What can we do as freshmen to try and change this?' We just kept cracking at it every day and finally, junior year, we were able to pound that rock and crack it and make something great out of it."
"I remember those days like it was yesterday. Toughest period of my life in college," says Bryant McIntosh. "Coming from a winning background and not winning. You're putting everything into it, coming up short still. I remember not being able to sleep … It was a tough month. It's crazy thinking I didn't win a single game over a month."
And now, thinking back on the journey from then?
"I've definitely been able to appreciate it because I know how hard I've worked, how hard this class has worked, what we've all been through, and knowing where we've taken this program," says McIntosh. "It's something I'm very proud of. So I have been able to reflect. Especially after last season, I reflected a lot on just everything that went into getting us to where we were. It's just a special group of guys that was able to be part of something and accomplish something that every class before had always tried to do."
That accomplishment was confirmed last spring on the afternoon of that day called Selection Sunday.
"Selection Sunday was like a dream come true," says Lindsey. "It was something I've always wanted to experience especially since I came to Northwestern. Being part of a culture that had never experienced it made it a little more special. So that's definitely a day that I don't think any of us who were part of it will ever forget. The excitement level was so high. Everyone was in good spirits. That was a great day for us."
"It was definitely a range of emotions," says Skelly. "I never really had success like that before. I'd never been to a state title game. I'd never been an All-American. I hadn't won a lot of things in my career, so to be able to say I'm a winner, that people recognize me nationally, that's a feeling I'll never forget."
They had made history, then, a claim available to only a chosen few.
"It felt great," says Lindsey. "It's something I can always look back on and say I did something special and my hard work paid off. I'll always cherish being part of history."
"It's something special. It's something no one's ever going to be able to take away from me," says Skelly. "Not many people are able to be the first to do something. For me to be part of something like that is the reason why I came to this school. Not many people can say they've tasted true success. I can be one who can say, 'I've had success in my life. I know what it feels like.'"
"It's a special thing," says McIntosh. "I think because I'm so young I don't really appreciate it the way I will when I'm 50, 60, when I'm able to tell my kids, my grandkids, God willing, the stories and the experiences I was able to have here at such a special place. It's been a hell of a ride."
"What's neat about it is I remember sitting in all their living rooms and talking about that. How special that would be," says Collins. "So to live it out together, to watch their development— the thing I'm proud about too is the way they're going to leave here as men. I'm really proud of what they've done in that regard as well."
Thursday night is Senior Night, the night to applaud and celebrate all that they have done.
"I'm assuming I'm going to be a little emotional," says Lindsey.
"I'm going to be very emotional," says McIntosh. "Putting the jersey on is so special to me. Just having that night to celebrate everything we've accomplished, to reminisce, it'll be special."
"It's going to be a very emotional day for me," says Skelly. "I remember my freshman year. JerShon (Cobb) and Dave Sobolewski said, 'Man, time flies by.' I'm 18-years old, I'm like, 'What are you talking about? I haven't even started yet. I've got four more years.' It was like being a freshman in high school again. But now I look at it, I have possibly a week left in my career. It's a weird feeling. It's different. I don't really know what's next for me in life. It's going to be the last time I play basketball at Northwestern. It's really emotionally tough on me because basketball has been just a strong part of my life, imparting strong values and life lessons. So to say goodbye to it is going to be tough, is going to be difficult."
"It's going to be a tough night for me," Collins finally says. "It's going to be tough because of what those guys have not only meant to our program, but also because of what they mean to me personally, and to my family … They came in as young players. They got thrown into the fire. They had to figure it out through some tough times early, and they did. And they got tough. And they came together, and they all improved, and they were able to do what they came here to do.
"They've left a great legacy."
NUSports.com Special Contributor
They were a part of the first recruiting class which signed on with a young guy who had just made the longest journey there is — that 12-inch journey from the chair of an assistant coach to that of a head coach.
"I can't even put into words what that group has meant to me," says that guy, Chris Collins. "As a coach who had never been a head coach in college before, they were the first guys that said, 'I believe in you. I want to be part of this. I want to help build this program.'"
"I was looking at schools that were good in academics and were high in basketball and Coach Collins came to me and said, 'I want you to be the first to do something,'" says forward Gavin Skelly, explaining why he took that leap. "It's kind of hard to say no to that. How many times are you able to be the first?"
"There was an attraction to be part of the first," says point guard Bryant McIntosh. "And there was also an attraction to leave your own legacy. I feel I've left a pretty remarkable legacy here."
"My parents, since I was younger, wanted me to come here," says the wing Scottie Lindsey. "At the time they hired Coach Collins, he had a good message. He had a plan for what he wanted to do, and I wanted to be part of something great."
So together they embarked on a journey.
"The journey's been up and down for sure," says Lindsey. "There have been a lot of struggles, and there have been some good parts, but all of it has been a great learning experience. Especially going from a teenager to a man, learning how hard you have to work to be successful and the type of things you're going to go through in life … There were times when I was close to having a different attitude when things were very hard. But there was something in me and my teammates that always made us want to keep going further and working hard."
"It's been a long journey," says Gavin Skelly. "Freshman year we lost 10 games in a row. We didn't win a game in January. I remember that. Going back to my dorm with Bryant every night being like, 'What can we do as freshmen to try and change this?' We just kept cracking at it every day and finally, junior year, we were able to pound that rock and crack it and make something great out of it."
"I remember those days like it was yesterday. Toughest period of my life in college," says Bryant McIntosh. "Coming from a winning background and not winning. You're putting everything into it, coming up short still. I remember not being able to sleep … It was a tough month. It's crazy thinking I didn't win a single game over a month."
And now, thinking back on the journey from then?
"I've definitely been able to appreciate it because I know how hard I've worked, how hard this class has worked, what we've all been through, and knowing where we've taken this program," says McIntosh. "It's something I'm very proud of. So I have been able to reflect. Especially after last season, I reflected a lot on just everything that went into getting us to where we were. It's just a special group of guys that was able to be part of something and accomplish something that every class before had always tried to do."
That accomplishment was confirmed last spring on the afternoon of that day called Selection Sunday.
"Selection Sunday was like a dream come true," says Lindsey. "It was something I've always wanted to experience especially since I came to Northwestern. Being part of a culture that had never experienced it made it a little more special. So that's definitely a day that I don't think any of us who were part of it will ever forget. The excitement level was so high. Everyone was in good spirits. That was a great day for us."
"It was definitely a range of emotions," says Skelly. "I never really had success like that before. I'd never been to a state title game. I'd never been an All-American. I hadn't won a lot of things in my career, so to be able to say I'm a winner, that people recognize me nationally, that's a feeling I'll never forget."
They had made history, then, a claim available to only a chosen few.
"It felt great," says Lindsey. "It's something I can always look back on and say I did something special and my hard work paid off. I'll always cherish being part of history."
"It's something special. It's something no one's ever going to be able to take away from me," says Skelly. "Not many people are able to be the first to do something. For me to be part of something like that is the reason why I came to this school. Not many people can say they've tasted true success. I can be one who can say, 'I've had success in my life. I know what it feels like.'"
"It's a special thing," says McIntosh. "I think because I'm so young I don't really appreciate it the way I will when I'm 50, 60, when I'm able to tell my kids, my grandkids, God willing, the stories and the experiences I was able to have here at such a special place. It's been a hell of a ride."
"What's neat about it is I remember sitting in all their living rooms and talking about that. How special that would be," says Collins. "So to live it out together, to watch their development— the thing I'm proud about too is the way they're going to leave here as men. I'm really proud of what they've done in that regard as well."
Thursday night is Senior Night, the night to applaud and celebrate all that they have done.
"I'm assuming I'm going to be a little emotional," says Lindsey.
"I'm going to be very emotional," says McIntosh. "Putting the jersey on is so special to me. Just having that night to celebrate everything we've accomplished, to reminisce, it'll be special."
"It's going to be a very emotional day for me," says Skelly. "I remember my freshman year. JerShon (Cobb) and Dave Sobolewski said, 'Man, time flies by.' I'm 18-years old, I'm like, 'What are you talking about? I haven't even started yet. I've got four more years.' It was like being a freshman in high school again. But now I look at it, I have possibly a week left in my career. It's a weird feeling. It's different. I don't really know what's next for me in life. It's going to be the last time I play basketball at Northwestern. It's really emotionally tough on me because basketball has been just a strong part of my life, imparting strong values and life lessons. So to say goodbye to it is going to be tough, is going to be difficult."
"It's going to be a tough night for me," Collins finally says. "It's going to be tough because of what those guys have not only meant to our program, but also because of what they mean to me personally, and to my family … They came in as young players. They got thrown into the fire. They had to figure it out through some tough times early, and they did. And they got tough. And they came together, and they all improved, and they were able to do what they came here to do.
"They've left a great legacy."
••••••
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