Indianapolis - At the end, he was weakened and worn down by illness and injury-a leader who could no longer lead.
Despite valiant efforts, Chris Collins' Duke basketball career ended on Thursday afternoon when the Blue Devils bowed out of the NCAA Tournament. As he exited the court for the last time in a Duke uniform, with under a minute to go in the Blue Devil's 75-60 loss to Eastern Michigan, Collins and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski embraced.
Krzyzewski hugged Collins and told him how proud he was to have had him in the Blue Devil program for four years. Collins was visibly moved as he took his seat on the bench and buried his head in his hands, crying unashamedly.
"Chris is what we want a Duke basketball player to be," Krzyzewski said. "He comes in and he's a team player. Then he develops and becomes as good a player as he can become, and, even more importantly, a leader.
"We've very lucky that the one kid who was with us-until the last 10 days of the year-was Chris, because he's been our most valuable player, and I'm proud to have coached him."
The lone senior to be on the team for four years, he gave his all on the court every time out there. But Collins caught the flu early last week, and that combined with the layoff he had to take because of his hurt right foot took their toll on his game.
"It was a situation where Chris had to find his way back into the game," sophomore Ricky Price said. "It was tough for him to find his groove. He played an exceptional game. He led us like he has all season. I'm going to miss playing with him."
Collins only scored 11 points, well below the 23 points he averaged during Duke's five-game winning streak late in the year. He was a major reason the Blue Devils made the NCAA Tournament, pushing them with his play and leadership. Even when Thursday's game was all but over, there was Collins pushing Duke on-scoring the last basket of the season for the Blue Devils.
"Chris Collins is not going out on a down note," Krzyzewski said. "He's worked for four years, so you have to look at the big picture. A big part of it is how you handle victory or defeat.
"When you lose, sometimes you can handle it with class, and that's how Chris Collins has handled this game. Chris has been a magnificent leader for us."
Fans will probably remember Collins most for his fire and the emotion that he played with on the court. He fed off the Cameron crowd as much as it fed off him. Collins transferred that energy to his teammates, exhorting them on and pushing them all year long.
More importantly, Collins gave his all every time he went out on the floor. Last year Collins struggled all season, battling the same foot injury that felled him late this year. But this year a healthy Collins showed just how much he loves to play the game.
"I probably will be remembered as someone who played with a lot of emotion and enthusiasm," Collins said. "Hopefully, people will see that I was just someone who loved to play because every time I played that's all I tried to do. Hopefully, people saw that."
Collins hopes to play next at the professional level. He will have surgery on his foot immediately, and, if not drafted by an NBA team, Collins will try to go to a team's camp as a free agent.
"I'm sure I can get a chance somewhere with the kind of year I was able to have, and the improvement that I made," Collins said. "So, I feel that I have a bright future in basketball. I think there's somewhere where I can play, and I don't think I'm ready to give up playing the game."
Collins mentioned Europe and other overseas areas as places where he would be willing to play. Eventually, he will likely go into coaching, though.
Collins certainly began his coaching career this year. As co-captain, he led Duke on and off the floor. He helped Duke return to the NCAA Tournament, and helped his young teammates mature and improve throughout the season. The future is bright for Duke, and one of the biggest reasons for that is Collins.
"Chris has been a perfect example this year of how to go out there, play hard and leave everything out there on the court," junior co-captain Jeff Capel said. "That's something that everyone on the team that's returning next year needs to continue to learn and build on. Hopefully, next year we'll have a more successful year, and if we do, I think it will be because of the things we learned this year about our team and about ourselves that Chris showed us."
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