Representing the ‘Cats in Chicago on Thursday were head coach Chris Collins, alongside star forward Nick Martinelli and senior wing Justin Mullins. Here were five takeaways from yesterday’s Media Day, from the impact newcomers have made to Nick Martinelli’s newfound role as the leader of this group.
Arrinten Page could be Northwestern’s X-factor this season
There’s no question that this team is going to miss some of its recent graduates. Guys like Brooks Barnhizer (now on the Oklahoma City Thunder), Ty Berry and Matt Nicholson were not just the leaders of last
year’s squad, but provided unmistakably valuable minutes to the roster.
But, man, Chris Collins knows how to reload. The 12-year head coach has not just built a winning culture for the Northwestern men’s basketball program, but has learned to adapt quickly to the NIL era that forces many teams to rely heavily on the transfer portal for the best talent the nation has to offer.
When the ‘Cats began making their moves, transfers Max Green (Holy Cross) and Jayden Reid caught some eyes, but one alarmingly lacking position still remained: center.
Enter Arrinten Page. The 6’11”, 245-lb. junior is now on his third stop, after having been with USC and Cincinnati in his two previous collegiate seasons. But the potential is there: Page was a four-star out of high school, ranked 40th in the country in the class of 2023. And although he was unable to carve out a role for himself in his previous two stops, teammates and coaches have raved about him since he arrived on campus.
“His talent is undeniable,” Collins said, adding that although his previous two stops haven’t worked out, he believes Page “understands the urgency of ‘It’s time for me to really step forward now as a junior and consistently be a good player.’”
The Marietta, Georgia native’s big frame is complemented by impressive footwork and a nice touch from the paint area. His combination of size and skill that is needed to truly compete in the physical Big Ten, and is something NU has lacked in recent years.
“I think AP (Arrinten Page) has done an unbelievable job,” Martinelli said when asked about the newcomer that’s impressed him the most. “The energy that he possesses, the freak athleticism. Every time I’m driving to the rim, I’m looking around being like, ‘Yo, Where’s he at?’, and that’s a tribute to how hard he’s worked this offseason.”
Nick Martinelli could potentially make another jump
It might be hard to imagine Martinelli improving on what was nothing short of a dream season in the eyes of Wildcats fans. After leading the Big Ten in scoring (20.5 points per game), hitting two game-winning buzzer-beater shots at Welsh Ryan Arena and ultimately earning himself a Second Team All-Big Ten nod — which some might say was a snub, but I digress — it feels like Martinelli couldn’t get any better.
But that’s not how Nick Martinelli operates. After an incredibly successful campaign, the senior forward explained that he has been working tirelessly this offseason to improve every weakness in his game that he can.
“It was a working offseason for sure,” Martinelli said. “I obviously wanted to expand my game a ton. And I was just getting better little by little, trying to push my conditioning. I know that I might have to have a similar workload this year. And I want to be able to battle even harder than I did last year.”
And now in his fourth and final season, Martinelli’s role expands past just being a scorer or go-to guy down the stretch. He has had to step up as a leader. And the Illinois native explained he has been up for the challenge thus far, crediting leaders before him in helping transform himself into a role model.
“If they need any advice, I’ve been through it. I’ve had such a great opportunity having leaders such as Boo (Buie) and Robbie (Beran) and Ty (Berry), that have taught me so many things, and I just want to pay that forward,” he said.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth in him this summer using his voice, being good with the younger guys, being good with the new guys and being that vocal leader that we need him to be in addition to being our best player,” Collins added.
This team is deep as ever
Of course, this team will be losing a lot. Not just in its aforementioned leadership, but a majority of the talent and scoring options made available to Collins is no longer there. In fact, over half (52.9%, to be exact) of Northwestern’s scoring production from the 2024-25 season has now moved on, whether it be to the pros or to the transfer portal.
Luckily, Northwestern has learned to rebuild. The ‘Cats bring in arguably their most talented high school recruiting class of all time, headlined by four-star Tre Singleton, NU’s highest-ranked recruit of all time. Singleton is complemented by guards Jake West, Tyler Kropp and Phoenix Gill, as well as towering big Cade Bennerman to form a well-rounded group.
“He’s ready to play right away. And we knew that, that’s why we recruited him,” Collins said.
As for the transfer class, it seems as though they have been a welcome edition for players and coaches alike. Outside of the clear talent Page presents, Collins was quick to rave about the outside shooting ability of Patriot League freshman of the year Max Green, and the toughness that USF transfer point guard Jayden Reid brings to the table.
“He’s tough-minded. I’m not worried about it,” Collins said in regards to Reid’s undersized 5’10” frame. “I mean, people thought Boo was undersized at six-foot, and I think if you’re tough, if you have fight to you, I think that height can be a little bit overrated sometimes.”
And that isn’t even mentioning the progression expected from the returners. Martinelli, of course, will be the focus of this team for many fans in and outside of Evanston, but this returning squad could run much deeper than that.
Justin Mullins, who has always been a defensive weapon and has begun to come into his own as a scorer, mentioned that his biggest focus this offseason was becoming a “solid shooter” that teams could no longer afford to sag off of. Collins would not stop talking about the 15 pounds of muscle Angelo Ciaravino added this offseason, or how excited he is to see K.J. Windham make another jump in Year Two.
“And I think we have the opportunity to have more depth,” Collins said. “I say opportunity. Everyone says they’re deep this time of year, right? It’s easy to say that in October. I think we have the opportunity to have more depth this year, which will be newer for me, too.”
Small Ball will be Northwestern’s M.O.
It has almost been a staple of recent Collins Northwestern teams, but “small ball” in the very literal Big Ten is a bold choice. But with just two players listed at 6’10” or above on the roster — Page and Bennerman — the play style is more of a necessity.
This Wildcats roster is well-equipped for that style of play, however, with a plethora of tall, lengthy wings combined with smart and quick guards who make very few mistakes. From Martinelli, who’s position has always been relatively fluid since he became a part of the rotation, to Mullins, Green and Ciaravino, the Wildcats have a ton of options of “undersized” players who can still hold their own on both sides of the ball against bigger competition.
Collins remained adamant that having just one traditional center in the expected rotation would not be a problem for this year’s team, even saying this year’s roster construction “reminds me a little bit of our first tournament team.”
Alongside with the physicality and lengthiness of this year’s group of wings, Northwestern also has an underrated advantage in being able to play a little bit faster and spread out, something Collins explained was a wish of his, especially considering the depth already available on the roster.
“Obviously we would have loved to have two, three, four seven-footers. Everybody would,” Collins said. “But I think we’ve got to go with what we’ve got, and I feel comfortable because of our positional size that we can play a little bit smaller at the five, knowing that those other guys can help out.”
Even if it means putting Martinelli at the five, the ‘Cats will be able to lean on creative lineup combinations and a rotation that could go 10- or 11-men deep to counteract what they lack in seven-foot talent.
Collins is in it for the long haul
This takeaway might feel like a fairly obvious one at this point — especially given the multi-year extension he signed keeping him on through 2030 — but it is nonetheless one that feels necessary to point out.
Just a few months ago, there was serious speculation that Collins might be taking the then-vacant and highly-coveted Villanova job (eventually given to former Maryland head coach Kevin Willard). A sigh of relief carried across the entirety of Northwestern’s campus when the team and school announced Collins would be staying in Evanston for the foreseeable future.
But Collins’ stay is one that goes beyond putting pen to paper; it’s a mentality. The moment the offseason had hit, Collins explained that he did some self-reflection on where things were, both program-wise and personally. And that’s where his decision came.
“You start to think about what your goals are, what you want to do,” Collins said. “And honestly, at the end of the day, the legacy piece means so much to me. Being a part of Northwestern, I kind of feel like the program is my baby. And it wasn’t something that I was ready to leave.”
For Collins, there was simply too much unfinished business at Northwestern to step away from the program at this juncture of his career. Both in the now and the long-term future, the goal is to build a sustainable program defined by success.
Outlining his vision for the program, his “baby,” Collins said: “We’re not going to be an eight portal guys in, eight portal guys out type of team. We’re going to be a high school recruitment team that mixes in a few portal guys. And that’s how we’re going to continue to build.”
Ultimately, Collins embodies the culture and success of Northwestern men’s basketball because he built the program, from the ground up. Three March Madness appearances and two tournament wins later, his desire to continue building hasn’t changed.
“My heart was always leading me towards staying at Northwestern,” Collins said. “That was where I wanted to be.”
