The fact he’s done it doesn’t surprise me but the fact somebody has got five triple doubles is surprising. This is how specific his goals were. He wants to go out and get triple doubles and add value to his team in whatever way possible. – Chris Collinsworth, on Kyle Collinsworth
LAS VEGAS — Chris Collinsworth is the sometimes forgotten brother of the beast.
Before the world knew of BYU’s Mr. Triple Double, Kyle Collinsworth, there was a time when his older brother Chris drew big aspirations from those who recruited him. He was a 6-8 athlete, a star at Provo High with big-time skills and dreams. Unfortunately, his ambition to carve out a college career ended prematurely at BYU due to injuries.
Chris Collinsworth and his wife Tatum were in Orleans Arena Monday night to see BYU battle Portland in the semifinals of the WCC basketball tournament.
The experience takes on a special meaning for both of them.
Just over a year ago they watched Kyle crumple in a heap on this very floor with a knee injury that led to ACL surgery. The year before, shortly after Kyle came back from an LDS mission to Russia, they saw a list of goals Kyle had written for himself as a basketball player. One of those goals stated he wanted to be known as Mr. Triple Double.
They kid you not.
“My wife and I look at that and we both laugh at it now,” said Chris. “But that’s what he literally wrote down and it’s a little stunning.
Fast forward to Monday night. For the past month, ESPN announcers have been referring to Kyle as Mr. Triple Double. He extended his NCAA-record to six this season, something no one in history has accomplished. His triple double Monday against Portland tied an NCAA career record. The scary thing is, if you break down three other games, he was only a whisper away from getting three more.
Chris knows how hard it is to achieve a triple double. He also knows his brother.
“If anyone were to do it, it would be Kyle. The fact he’s done it doesn’t surprise me but the fact somebody has got six triple doubles is surprising. This is how specific his goals were. He wants to go out and get triple doubles and add value to his team in whatever way possible.”
Chris became part of BYU’s basketball program in 2007 and then went on an LDS mission to Australia after his freshman year. Returning to Provo, he anxiously prepared to kick off his college career and never would have imagined how things would turn on him. After briefly playing with his younger brother Kyle during the 2010-2011 season, it all came crashing down when injuries forced him to undergo three surgeries in 18 months and give up the game.
“It’s still my life’s goal to play basketball again,” said Chris. Recently, he did try. “It didn’t go very well and I have a long way to go.”
Head coach Dave Rose signed Chris and his brother Kyle out of Provo High School with high hopes the 6-foot-8 Chris would pave the way for his 6-foot-7 younger brother at a critical time when the Cougars needed a power forward of his caliber.
It was not to be.
Chris says he doesn’t watch Kyle play to live his basketball dream vicariously through his younger sibling. He has just become a fan and is content to watch with unbridled passion.
“Everyone, including fans, lives basketball through players in some form or another. When my career ended, it ended. It’s just fun being a spectator and a fan like anyone else — although I do have a little more insight.”
He admits he does get cranked up to see his little brother play.
“It’s fun to watch him, but it’s also fun to watch anyone I know play. A good example is that I get just as pumped watching Taysom Hill play football. He’s a guy I know extremely well on a personal level and I enjoy seeing him play just like I do Kyle.”
And what a ride that’s been. Chris has witnessed Kyle capture the imagination of tens of thousands after a remarkable recovery from ACL surgery a year ago.
He’s seen his brother step up as the heart and soul of BYU’s team; be a beast on the boards and killer all-conference attack dog inside the paint. He’s seen his brother make a remarkable transformation as a free-throw shooter and become an anecdote of inspiration and guts.
“What he is,” says the forgotten big brother, “is an example of hard work paying off. He’s been an example of what you can do when you really put your mind to it.”
Amen to that.
Dick Harmon, Deseret News sports columnist, can be found on Twitter as Harmonwrites and can be contacted at dharmon@desnews.com.