Chris Collins Basketball Camp Staff
Chris Collins
Head Coach
The 2022-23 Big Ten Coach of the Year, Sullivan-Ubben Head Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Collins has guided Northwestern men’s basketball to new heights over his 12 seasons, appearing in the 2017, 2023 and 2024 NCAA Tournaments, the only NCAA postseason appearances in program history. Collins has recorded 194 victories in Evanston, the second-most wins by a head coach in program history. He was named the University’s 24th head coach on March 27, 2013, and is the fifth-longest tenured coach in the 18-team Big Ten Conference.
Collins guided Northwestern to its first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in school history, reaching the Second Round in both 2023 and 2024.
Chris Lauten
Director of Operations
Chris Lauten is in his tenth season as the team's director of basketball operations.
His duties include assisting in all day-to-day operations of the Wildcat basketball program, including scheduling, team travel, serving as the team's academic liaison and directing the summer basketball camps
Lauten came to Northwestern after working for the NBA Development League in New York, N.Y., since October of 2008. During his time with the NBA D-League, Lauten was responsible for scouting and signing players for the league's annual draft, for processing player personnel-related transactions, for providing NBA teams with information highlighting the D-League's top prospects and for managing the basketball operations behind the league's Showcase, All-Star and Summer League events among other responsibilities. He also served as an NBA Employee Volunteer from 2010-12, where he mentored New York-based middle school students.
Maura Walsh
Assistant Camp Director / Assistant Director of Basketball Operations
Maura Walsh began her position as Assistant Director of Basketball Operations in January 2025. She previously held the role of Operations Assistant with Northwestern’s Men Basketball Program, beginning in January 2024.
In her role, she manages recruiting visits, arranges team and coach travel, oversees event logistics, communicates with donors and alumni of the program, and handles game-day needs such as ticketing and visitor coordination.
A native of Lemont, IL, Maura earned her undergraduate degree in Sport Management from Loras College in 2018, where she was recognized as both an All-Region Athlete and All-Region Scholar for her contributions to the Women's Soccer program. She went on to complete her master’s degree also in Sport Management at Baylor University in 2020, further solidifying her expertise in the sports industry.
Outside of her professional work, Maura is dedicated to coaching soccer, working at both the club and high school level, to develop young athletes and foster a love for the game.
Brian James
Assistant Coach
Brian James enters his 13th season on staff at Northwestern on head coach Chris Collins’ staff and begins his fourth season as special assistant to the head coach in 2025-26.
James, who has been a part of three NCAA Tournament team in Evanston, is in charge of working with Northwestern's post players and out of bounds plays. He is credited for drawing up “The Play,” Nathan Taphorn’s length-of-the-court pass to Dererk Pardon that resulted in a buzzer-beating 67-65 win for Northwestern over Michigan in 2017 that all but clinched NU’s first NCAA tournament berth in program history.
During his time in Evanston, James has worked with the top three shot blockers in school history in Alex Olah, Pardon and Matthew Nicholson. Northwestern has recorded its top four shot blocking seasons in program history during James’ tenure.
Chris Lowery
Assistant Coach
A veteran college coach with more than 25 years of experience, Chris Lowery enters his fourth season at Northwestern as an assistant coach in 2025-26. Since Lowery arrived in Evanston, the ‘Cats have reached two NCAA Tournaments (2023, 2024), recorded two NCAA Tournament victories and posted a winning record in each season.
During his first season on head coach Chris Collins’ staff in 2022-23, he earned the inaugural Howard Moore Assistant Coach of the Year Award, which is voted on by Big Ten Conference head coaches.
Bryant McIntosh
Assistant Coach
One of the most accomplished players in school history and career assist leader at Northwestern, Bryant McIntosh enters his fourth season as an assistant coach in 2025-26.
He previously spent three seasons as assistant director of basketball operations (2019-22) following his playing career.
A four-year starter for the Wildcats (2015-18) who guided the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, McIntosh is one of three players in Big Ten history to record at least 1,600 points and 700 assists in a career. A second-team All-Big Ten pick as a junior, he holds the top two single-season assist marks in school history and his 700 career assists are a school record.
Shane Southwell
Assistant Coach
A former All-Big 12 player at Kansas State, Shane Southwell enters his second season at Northwestern as an assistant coach in 2025-26.
During his first season on Head Coach Chris Collins’ staff, Southwell aided the Wildcats to their third consecutive winning season. Nick Martinelli became the first Wildcat to lead the Big Ten in scoring since 2011-12 (John Shurna), averaging 20.5 points per game, the highest scoring average by a Wildcat since Evan Eschmeyer (21.7) in 1997-98. Martinelli was named All-Big Ten Second Team. Brooks Barnhizer, who was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and NABC All-District Second Team, posted averages of 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game in 17 games before missing the remainder of the season due to injury.
John Martinez
Coordinator, Basketball Video & Recruiting Operations
John Martinez joined the Northwestern Men’s Basketball program in June of 2021, and will begin his fourth season as Basketball Video and Recruiting Operations Coordinator in 2025-26. Prior to his current role, Martinez was a Graduate Manager for the program during the 2021-22 season.
Martinez handles all video related aspects for the program and assists the Northwestern coaching staff by compiling scouting reports and providing statistical analysis. During the season he oversees the scout team. Martinez also heads Northwestern’s on-campus recruiting efforts and helps the coaching staff with overseeing and managing the program’s recruiting and NCAA transfer portal databases.
