Doug Collins attends intro of son Chris Collins as Northwestern coach

Even when Chris Collins was a ball boy at long-gone Chicago Stadium, wiping up the sweat of Michael Jordan, his father, who was the Bulls coach at the time, sensed that coaching was in his future. That belief became a reality on Tuesday.

“I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve always felt Chris had that about him,” 76ers coach Doug Collins said.

With the elder Collins watching in the front row with his arm draped around his granddaughter Kate, Chris Collins was introduced as the new men’s basketball coach at Northwestern, a program seeking its first NCAA tournament bid. He comes to Northwestern after 13 seasons on the staff at Duke, under Mike Krzyzewski.

Doug Collins gave his team the day off even though the Sixers are playing Wednesday night at Charlotte. “I had to be here and support him and let him know how proud I am of him,” he said.