Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: An Emotional Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena
1/27/2020 5:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
It was some family room they had there at the Spectrum, the former Philadelphia playpen that was once the home of the 76ers. Tamika Catchings frolicked there. She would grow up to be one of the greats in women's basketball. There too were Mike Bibby and Mike Dunleavy, Jr., future first-round NBA draft picks after All-American college careers at, respectively, Arizona and Duke. Then, rounding out the group, were Doug Collins' kid, Chris, and Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant's kid, Kobe.
"I've known him since he was born," the 'Cats coach said Sunday night. "My sister and Kobe are about a month apart. I was four-years old. I remember my mom and Kobe's mom being pregnant at the same time. It was my sister and Kobe. So I've known him, known his family since then."
•••••
The unimaginable occurs and for a moment time stops, but then reality intervenes and demands that life continue on. So, it was on Sunday when the 'Cats hosted Ohio State just hours after the deaths of Bryant and his 13-year old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash. But later, after his team fell to the Buckeyes by a dozen, Collins appeared for his press conference and opened by saying, "Before we talk about the game, tough day in basketball."
His voice broke here and now, as he carried on, his emotions were open and raw and his words were often accompanied by tears or sniffles. "I get emotional," he said, "cause it's someone that I knew very well. It was hard to rally to play a game, but I know the competitor he was that he would want that. He would want both teams to go out there and fight hard. I apologize if I can't say too much. But for all these kids on both teams, you're talking about a guy who was probably a hero to most all of them. So, for those guys to get the news three hours before a game, it's tough. For both teams. Not just ours. But our guys were very emotional and, obviously, I have a lot of history with Kobe going back to when he was a little kid. And I have a daughter (Kate) who's 13.
"So, obviously, everyone in our program, our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and his wife and their children. Just really, really a hard day. It puts it all in perspective about just playing a basketball game. Every minute is precious, man. Every minute's precious."
•••••
Boo Buie, the 'Cats rookie guard, got the news after the team's afternoon shoot-around. "It's super sad. It just broke my heart," he said. "He's a basketball legend. He's one of the basketball gods now. I looked up to him when I was coming up. I remember (being) in my room on a Nerf hoop, doing fade aways, yelling his name. So when I found out it really meant something to me. He was my idol growing up. I used to wear his No. 8 jersey all the time as a little kid. It was super sad that he passed. I looked at him as immortal. I still can't believe it."
"I still don't believe it. I don't want to believe it," said sophomore forward MIller Kopp, who was sitting next to Buie. "Like Boo said, he is a legend in the basketball world, in general. He's done so many things. It's, it's just unbelievable. It really is."
•••••
Chris Holtman, the Buckeyes' coach, gathered his players before the game to talk about Bryant's death. "I thought it was important. I'm sure it was on their minds," he explained. "Anyone in this generation who's involved in basketball feels a real connection to him in a lot of ways because of his imprint on the game and how incredibly competitive he was. I feel so much for his family. Obviously, there's tragedy all over the world. But when you hear about a father and his daughter, it's tragic."
•••••
But, again, reality insisted on being served, and here this game unfolded in a fashion familiar to any who follow the 'Cats. Catalyzed by Kopp's 15 points, they trailed by only three at the half, and then just over five minutes into the second, they went up by three on a Buie three from the right wing. The Buckeyes now stormed back to go up nine at 11:30, but again the 'Cats rallied and trailed by only four at 5:14. Then came this. A pair of free throws for OSU, a missed drive by 'Cats point guard Pat Spencer and a Buckeyes' fast break that ended with D.J. Carton corralling an alley-oop for an improbably layup that put his team up eight at 4:29.
•••••
Kopp finished with just five second-half points, and Ohio State finished off the 'Cats by ending this one on a 12-4 run over its last five minutes. "The second half, they did a good job of keying on me. Credit to them," Kopp said.
"It really wasn't any significant adjustments on our part," Holtman said. "It was just playing a little harder when we needed to."
"Their guys, when the game was on the line the last five, six minutes, I felt they stepped up. They made big plays," Collins said.
"But we're going to keep fighting, coming every day," Buie said. "We're young, but we're not using it as an excuse. We're in these games. We know we can win these games. So we're just coming with the mindset we have to break through. We have to break through, push through, and find a way to win. We're not going to stop until we find a way to win."
•••••
That very same attitude is what Collins points to when asked what he most remembers about Kobe Bryant. "Just his drive. His drive," he said. "The closest thing I've seen to it was Michael (Jordan). I was really lucky to be around Michael when I was in junior high when my dad coached him here (with the Bulls). He was the closest thing I ever saw to having that kind of competitiveness, that kind of desire. You could tell he studied everything Michael did. That's what he wanted to be. The guy, we'd be in China and he'd get me out of bed at two o'clock in the morning and make me rebound for him for two hours. He was a machine. He loved the game. He was really smart. What was really sad about it was he just seemed so happy. When you'd see him at games, or you'd see the stuff he's doing with his daughters, being really involved with them and his family, he just seemed so happy with his post basketball life.
"To have something like this happen, its just not fair."
•••••
That relationship that began in the family room of a now-demolished gym in Philadelphia was rekindled when Bryant played for the U.S. Olympic teams that had Collins as an assistant coach. This is why they were together in China in 2008 and again in London four years later. "When you travel overseas— a lot of times we would go on exhibition tours leading up to those Games," Chris Collins said on this sad Sunday night. "Those summers that basically becomes your family for six weeks. Forget about playing basketball and stuff. Just the time you're at meals together and talking about kids and family.
"My daughter sent me a picture of her and Kobe at the 2008 Olympics after she heard the news. It's really sad. It's really sad."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
It was some family room they had there at the Spectrum, the former Philadelphia playpen that was once the home of the 76ers. Tamika Catchings frolicked there. She would grow up to be one of the greats in women's basketball. There too were Mike Bibby and Mike Dunleavy, Jr., future first-round NBA draft picks after All-American college careers at, respectively, Arizona and Duke. Then, rounding out the group, were Doug Collins' kid, Chris, and Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant's kid, Kobe.
"I've known him since he was born," the 'Cats coach said Sunday night. "My sister and Kobe are about a month apart. I was four-years old. I remember my mom and Kobe's mom being pregnant at the same time. It was my sister and Kobe. So I've known him, known his family since then."
•••••
The unimaginable occurs and for a moment time stops, but then reality intervenes and demands that life continue on. So, it was on Sunday when the 'Cats hosted Ohio State just hours after the deaths of Bryant and his 13-year old daughter, Gianna, in a helicopter crash. But later, after his team fell to the Buckeyes by a dozen, Collins appeared for his press conference and opened by saying, "Before we talk about the game, tough day in basketball."
His voice broke here and now, as he carried on, his emotions were open and raw and his words were often accompanied by tears or sniffles. "I get emotional," he said, "cause it's someone that I knew very well. It was hard to rally to play a game, but I know the competitor he was that he would want that. He would want both teams to go out there and fight hard. I apologize if I can't say too much. But for all these kids on both teams, you're talking about a guy who was probably a hero to most all of them. So, for those guys to get the news three hours before a game, it's tough. For both teams. Not just ours. But our guys were very emotional and, obviously, I have a lot of history with Kobe going back to when he was a little kid. And I have a daughter (Kate) who's 13.
"So, obviously, everyone in our program, our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and his wife and their children. Just really, really a hard day. It puts it all in perspective about just playing a basketball game. Every minute is precious, man. Every minute's precious."
•••••
Boo Buie, the 'Cats rookie guard, got the news after the team's afternoon shoot-around. "It's super sad. It just broke my heart," he said. "He's a basketball legend. He's one of the basketball gods now. I looked up to him when I was coming up. I remember (being) in my room on a Nerf hoop, doing fade aways, yelling his name. So when I found out it really meant something to me. He was my idol growing up. I used to wear his No. 8 jersey all the time as a little kid. It was super sad that he passed. I looked at him as immortal. I still can't believe it."
"I still don't believe it. I don't want to believe it," said sophomore forward MIller Kopp, who was sitting next to Buie. "Like Boo said, he is a legend in the basketball world, in general. He's done so many things. It's, it's just unbelievable. It really is."
•••••
Chris Holtman, the Buckeyes' coach, gathered his players before the game to talk about Bryant's death. "I thought it was important. I'm sure it was on their minds," he explained. "Anyone in this generation who's involved in basketball feels a real connection to him in a lot of ways because of his imprint on the game and how incredibly competitive he was. I feel so much for his family. Obviously, there's tragedy all over the world. But when you hear about a father and his daughter, it's tragic."
•••••
But, again, reality insisted on being served, and here this game unfolded in a fashion familiar to any who follow the 'Cats. Catalyzed by Kopp's 15 points, they trailed by only three at the half, and then just over five minutes into the second, they went up by three on a Buie three from the right wing. The Buckeyes now stormed back to go up nine at 11:30, but again the 'Cats rallied and trailed by only four at 5:14. Then came this. A pair of free throws for OSU, a missed drive by 'Cats point guard Pat Spencer and a Buckeyes' fast break that ended with D.J. Carton corralling an alley-oop for an improbably layup that put his team up eight at 4:29.
•••••
Kopp finished with just five second-half points, and Ohio State finished off the 'Cats by ending this one on a 12-4 run over its last five minutes. "The second half, they did a good job of keying on me. Credit to them," Kopp said.
"It really wasn't any significant adjustments on our part," Holtman said. "It was just playing a little harder when we needed to."
"Their guys, when the game was on the line the last five, six minutes, I felt they stepped up. They made big plays," Collins said.
"But we're going to keep fighting, coming every day," Buie said. "We're young, but we're not using it as an excuse. We're in these games. We know we can win these games. So we're just coming with the mindset we have to break through. We have to break through, push through, and find a way to win. We're not going to stop until we find a way to win."
•••••
That very same attitude is what Collins points to when asked what he most remembers about Kobe Bryant. "Just his drive. His drive," he said. "The closest thing I've seen to it was Michael (Jordan). I was really lucky to be around Michael when I was in junior high when my dad coached him here (with the Bulls). He was the closest thing I ever saw to having that kind of competitiveness, that kind of desire. You could tell he studied everything Michael did. That's what he wanted to be. The guy, we'd be in China and he'd get me out of bed at two o'clock in the morning and make me rebound for him for two hours. He was a machine. He loved the game. He was really smart. What was really sad about it was he just seemed so happy. When you'd see him at games, or you'd see the stuff he's doing with his daughters, being really involved with them and his family, he just seemed so happy with his post basketball life.
"To have something like this happen, its just not fair."
•••••
That relationship that began in the family room of a now-demolished gym in Philadelphia was rekindled when Bryant played for the U.S. Olympic teams that had Collins as an assistant coach. This is why they were together in China in 2008 and again in London four years later. "When you travel overseas— a lot of times we would go on exhibition tours leading up to those Games," Chris Collins said on this sad Sunday night. "Those summers that basically becomes your family for six weeks. Forget about playing basketball and stuff. Just the time you're at meals together and talking about kids and family.
"My daughter sent me a picture of her and Kobe at the 2008 Olympics after she heard the news. It's really sad. It's really sad."
Players Mentioned
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