Coach Chris Collins was originally known as a defense-first tactician upon his arrival to Evanston, Ill. to coach the Northwestern Wildcats, but his offensive coaching has taken center stage over the past few years.
Collins helped mold Brooks Barnhizer into a NBA Draft pick and contributor to the Oklahoma City Thunder and also helped develop Nick Martinelli into a back-to-back Big Ten scoring leader.
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Collins and his staff went hunting for additional talent this offseason and found a high-scoring forward to follow in Barnhizer and Martinelli’s footsteps: Jack Karasinski, formerly of the Bellarmine Knights of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
On Wednesday, Collins shared expectations of the high-scoring forward heading into his 12th season with the team and Karasinski’s first season with the ‘Cats.
Bellarmine forward Jack Karasinski (32) screams after getting the foul by Jacksonville University guard Hayden Wood (8) during the first period in the ASUN men’s basketball tournament between Jacksonville and Bellarmine Wednesday March 4, 2026 at UNF Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
Karasinski, a 6-foot-7, 206 pound forward from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who played two seasons at William & Mary before transferring to Bellarmine and ending up at Northwestern.
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He committed to Collins’ program on April 14 of this year and quickly became a focal point of offseason training plans for the Wildcats, who are in search of more offense for this year’s team.
Karasinski fits the bill, scoring a career-best 21.7 points per game last season on over 56% shooting from the field and over 41% from three-point range.
He is also an 80% free throw shooter but must improve his assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2 to 1.4) this season to become a front line college basketball player in the Big Ten.
Now wearing the number 32 jersey with the Wildcats, Karasinski called himself “versatile.”
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“I would say I’m a versatile forward who can really shoot the ball, high efficiency, high volume, can draw two defenders on the block and finish but also spray it out to my teammates as well,” he said on the Wildcats’ X page Wednesday.
Karasinski’s budding skills are expected to improve under Collins who admitted the Wildcats will likely rely on their transfer forward this season.
Collins has high expectations for Karasinski and hinted that he reminds him of former Wildcats in the NBA.
“He fits in the mold of the guys that have really done well in our program,” Collins said.
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“I know he’s really hungry to come to this level and show that he can have a similar production (to last year) at the Big Ten level,” he continued.
“We’re counting on him to be a key piece for us here this year,” Collins added.
Collins reeled in two freshmen and eight transfers this offseason, a bonanza of new talent that will take time to learn and sort itself out.
Collins’ confidence in Karasinski speaks volumes at this point in the offseason, a nearly surefire sign that Karasinski will be in the mix for a starting role as the season gets started in early November.
