“We have to be true to who we are” - Northwestern HC Chris Collins discusses upcoming Big Ten expansion
Chris Collins and Northwestern will face increased competition this year. The Big Ten conference is changing as the 2024 college basketball season opens. A realignment will see USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon enter the conference, which will be interesting to watch, to say the least.
Head coach Chris Collins opened up on the situation when speaking to "Big Ten Men's Basketball" on Friday:
"I think we all have to adjust," Collins said. "There is so much change you've seen now with the transfer portal, with NIL, what's going to be coming down the pipe possibly with the revenue sharing. How do we at Northwestern figure it out?
"I think that's the challenge with every school. We have to be true to who we are but also you have to be flexible you have to adapt to the times. You have to figure out how to be successful in this landscape and this League's not going to get any easier."
The Big Ten is not the only conference going through changes. The Pac-12 has suffered an exodus as teams like Oregon State and Washington State have departed to other conferences. The Pac-12 will operate as a two-team conference this season before Oregon and Washington go to the Mountain West.
Apart from the Big Ten additions, Stanford and California are going to ACC while every other team is heading to the Big 12. Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will be the new additions to the Big 12 this year after UCF, Cincinnati, BYU, and Houston entered the conference last year. However, they will lose Texas and Oklahoma this season, which depart to the SEC.
Kendall Gill's son will play for Chris Collins next year
Former NBA player Kendall Gill's son is the latest addition to Chris Collins' Northwestern roster. Phoenix Gill, a three-star, 6-foot-2 guard is a member of the 2025 recruiting class. Gill is considered a top-5 prospect out of Illinois and is among the best 50-best shooting guards in the nation.
Gill rejected offers from Illinois, Stanford, Iowa State, Valparaiso and Toledo to commit with the Wildcats. His entry could mark a chapter in Northwestern's basketball history, coming right after back-to-back NCAA Tournament stints.