Veteran Nick Collison ready to work with new coach Billy Donovan
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) shoots in front of Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) during an NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. Oklahoma City won 104-89. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) shoots in front of Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) during an NBA basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015. Oklahoma City won 104-89. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
In his 11 NBA seasons since graduating from Kansas, Nick Collison has played for just one franchise: the Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle Super Sonics).
He began his professional career playing for coach Nate McMillan, then Bob Weiss, Bob Hill and P.J. Carlesimo before spending the past six seasons under Scott Brooks.
As Collison’s career winds down, he’ll play for a winner at the college level who hopes his own pro days are just beginning. Former Florida coach Billy Donovan took over as OKC head coach this offseason.
Collison had minor knee surgery recently, and his rehab has kept him around the Thunder’s facilities. His time there allowed the veteran to speak with Donovan on several occasions. Collison said in an interview on Oklahoma City’s website he tried to help the new coach get acclimated to the franchise.
At KU, Collison actually faced Donovan’s Gators in the 2002 Preseason NIT, and Florida won 83-73. Collison scored 16 points in the November setback before eventually helping the Jayhawks reach their seconds straight Final Four.
Kansas University's Aaron Miles, front, goes for a loose ball against Florida's Anthony Roberson. The Gators beat the Jayhawks, 83-73, in the consolation game of the Preseason NIT on Friday in New York.
Now the two basketball lifers are working together in the NBA. Collison said even with a coach as well known as Donovan, it takes working with someone to find out how well he might fit in. The 34-year-old power forward said Donovan already is learning a lot about the Thunder, its players and how the team needs to improve.
“He’s a very sharp guy. I think he’s
going to do a good job,” Collison
said.
While the 6-foot-10 backup big man and his OKC teammates have grown accustomed to Brooks and his staff the past several seasons, Collison said they need to be open to suggestions and changes with Donovan taking over.
“We’ve done things one way for a long
time. A lot of things are going to be
different. It doesn’t do any good to
waste time fighting that,” Collison
said. “We need to come in with the
idea that we’re going to be
open-minded, we need to get better and
we need to buy into whatever the staff
wants to do.”
Playing for a perennial title contender in Oklahoma City, Collison said the team has a lot of work to do after missing the playoffs this past season. The Thunder finished 45-37 and lost a tie-breaker with New Orleans for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. OKC surely would have won more games and perhaps made a deep postseason run had it not been forced to deal with so many injuries. Not a single player on the roster played in all 82 games. Star point guard Russell Westbrook missed 15 games, starting power forward Serge Ibaka missed 18 and franchise centerpiece Kevin Durant missed 55.
Collison said the Thunder always have had the pieces to be great and the team needs to improve defensively under Donovan to become even tougher to beat. Even though he described 2014-15 (Collison played in 66 of 82 games) as a struggle, the potential for next season seems limitless.
“There’s no guarantee that everyone is
healthy all the time but we’re looking
forward to having everybody back and
are excited to play with the full
squad again,” Collison said. “We have
a ton of talent. We have a great
roster. It’s going to hopefully be a
really good year for us.”
Collison’s interview came after he spent some time talking hoops and the tricks of the up-and-under at the Thunder’s youth basketball camp
He said starting the summer with knee rehab should help him get to a good spot by the time the Thunder opens preseason camp this fall. As Collison’s knee gets stronger, he said he’ll add in more weight training. Once he’s cleared to get back to regular basketball activities, he’ll do a couple days of individual work and pickup games and take some days off for recovery.
“Knowing yourself in your 30’s, like
the wise old man that I am,” joked
Collison, who averaged a career low
4.1 points per game last season, “I think I have that figured out pretty
well, a good mix, and I’ll be ready to
go when camp starts.”
In the meantime, he knows the offseason is just as much about recharging your batteries after a long, draining campaign.
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