Barry Collier Biography

The 2003-04' season ranks as coach Barry Collier's finest as the Nebraska Cornhusher's basketball mentor.

The season started with the Huskers winning the first 10 out of 11 games including wins agains Arizona State, Tennessee and Minnesota on the road.

The team played number 12 nationally ranked Texas to a 61-63 loss at Texas, lost to Oklahoma 50-52, beat number 16 ranked Kansas 74-55, lost to number 4 ranked Oklahoma State 83-87 and humbled Texas Tech 72-44 in what could appropriately be described as a roller-coaster season.

The Collier coached Huskers advanced to the second round of the NIT and will square off with Hawaii for the right to move on.

Collier is a defensive minded coach whose philosophy is being steadily ingrained in his players and their style of play. The Huskers lead the Big 12 in defense, limiting their opponents to just 57 points per gane on 37 percent shooting, both numbers rank in the top 10 nationally.

Kelvin Sampson, the outstanding coach at Oklahoma and himself a defensive disciple said; "They never, ever deny an entry pass. They never overpressure the ball, so they never get a lot of steals. But they also never get beat on the dribble and never get out of position on rebounds. They're never out of position."

Collier's approach to defense is based on what he learned as an assistant for three seasons to Stanford's Mike Montgomery. In the Big 12, a conference known for outstanding defensive basketball and normally led in defensive stats by Sampson's Sooners, Colliers Nebraska teams are gaining quite a reputation for outstanding defensive play.

Collier expects his team to go to postseason play every season. The former Butler head coach had nine winning seasons out of the ll he coached his alma mater. He left Butler with a 196-132 record after the Bulldogs had just three winning seasons the previous 15 years.

Butler and Collier had five 20-win seasons including 22 or more wins each of Colliers last four seasons at the helm. To put this in its proper perspective the Bulldogs had just two 20-win seasons in their past 91 of intercollegiate basketball before Collier's arrival on the scene.

His last four seasons at Butler saw the Bulldogs log a 90-39 (.698) overall record while making four consecutive trips to postseason tournaments, a school record.

Overall Collier's Bulldog teams enjoyed three trips to the NCAA Tournament and three trips to the NIT, advancing to the third round in 1999.

Collier had the Bulldogs playing very competitively both nationally and in their Midwestern Collegiate Conference. They won two conference titles finishing either first or second seven times in MCC play.

Collier was named conference coach of the year four times.

Ten years as an assistant coach led Collier to the opportunity to be an assitant to Mike Montgomery of Stanford. He participated in the turnaround of the Stanford program which led to trips for the Cardinals to the NIT in 1988 and the NCAA Tournament in 1989, the year in which Stanford won 26 games and finished second in the Pac-10 Conference.

Collier was named to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2002. Collier has been an NABC member for the past 27 years, and has served as an NABC congressman for his conference as well as on the Assistant Coaches, Rules and NABC All-American Selection committees.

Collier earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Butler in 1976 and a Master of Science degree from Indiana State University in 1977.

Collier and his wife, Annette, have three sons, Casey, Brady, and Clay.

Some of his accomplishments are:

Nebraska advanced to the second round of the NIT - 2003-04' season
Huskers lead the Big 12 in defense - 2003-04' season
Huskers ranked in the top 10 nationally on defense - 2003-04' season
Coached Butler to a 196-132 record in eleven seasons
Led Butler to nine winning seasons out of ll
Coached Butler to five 20-win seasons including 22 or more wins each of his last four seasons
Last four seasons at Butler Bulldogs log a 90-39 (.698) overall record
Bulldogs made four consecutive trips to postseason tournaments, a school record
Overall Bulldog teams enjoyed three trips to the NCAA Tournament and three trips to the NIT
Won two conference titles at Butler
Bulldogs finished either first or second seven times in conference play
Named conference coach of the year four times while at Butler
Named to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2002
An NABC member for the past 27 years
Served as an NABC congressman for his conference
Past member of the Assistant Coaches, Rules and NABC All-American Selection committees
Bachelor of Science degree from Butler in 1976
Master of Science degree from Indiana State University in 1977