HBO Real Sports

Andrea Kremer, Chris Collins, Doug Collins
 

Northwestern was the only major college basketball program never to play in the NCAA tournament -- until last season. In coach Chris Collins' fourth year, the Wildcats not only qualified but advanced to the second round. But during the building process, Collins had to confront his own doubt. 

"Probably the low moment was my second year when we lost ten games in a row," Collins tells HBO Real Sports reporter Andrea Kremer. "We invented ways to lose in some of those games. ... I was trying everything. And it wasn't -- it wasn't comin' around. I was losing confidence in myself. I mean can I do this?"

His dad, longtime NBA coach and TV commentator Doug Collins, had foreseen such make-or-break circumstances.

"I told Chris two things: 'You better be resilient. You better be gritty,'" Doug says. "Because you're gonna get your ass kicked along the way."

Here's part of Kremer's story from the edition of Real Sports that premieres November 21 at 10 p.m. ET/PT: