Duke basketball alum could keep five-star package deal from Coach K

A past Blue Devil may turn out to be the top competitor to the Duke basketball staff in the battle for a pair of elite recruits.

With a 7-21 record in his seventh season as the head coach at Northwestern, former Duke basketball player and assistant Chris Collins isn't likely to have enough leverage to ask for a raise anytime soon (the Wildcats extended his contract through 2025 after he guided the 2016-17 team to the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance).

But there is one way Collins could put himself in an excellent position to earn a historic bump in pay after the 2021-22 season. The 45-year-old, who played under Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski from 1992-96 and served as an…