However this game turned out, Chris Collins figured to be numb Sunday night. The Northwestern coach had known Kobe Bryant since the two were hoops-loving kids in Philadelphia. Their dads, Doug Collins and Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, played together for the 76ers from 1975-79. Chris Collins reconnected with Kobe Bryant during the 2008 Olympics, with Collins assisting Mike Krzyzewski and Bryant scoring 20 points against Spain to win gold in Beijing. Collins and Bryant also were together for the 2012 Games. Collins got the shocking news that Bryant had been killed in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles about four hours before Ohio State’s 71-59 victory. He was shaken, of course. “So sad,” he texted. Coincidence or not, Collins seemed even more charged up than usual during the game. He got his first technical of the season after official Don Daily called a tight foul on Pete Nance following a missed…
Continue Reading: Northwestern coach Chris Collins, a longtime friend of Kobe Bryant, displays a range of emotions in the Wildcats’ loss to Ohio State
