KU's Collins one of 5 key players for 2007-08
All (or most) of the coach firings are over and nearly all the high-level prospects have signed, and it's still more than a month before we find out which of the NBA draft early entrants will return to college basketball. That gives us a nice little window to consider which returning players will have the greatest impact on the 2007-08 season.
We're not talking about returning stars like Tyler Hansbrough and Chris Lofton, nor about incoming freshman who'll try to have a Durant-ish effect on their teams. We're talking about players who could go either way -- they could improve and take their teams with them, or they could stagnate and see the same thing happen to their teams.
We'll start with the No. 5 player on the list.
No matter where you look on the Internet, Kansas point guard Sherron Collins is listed as standing 5-11 and weighing 200 pounds. If you look at Collins, though, you'll see maybe half of that is true, maybe none.
Either way, there isn't anything Collins can do about growing taller, but there is plenty he can do to grow smaller.
Collins played his best basketball last season at about 205 pounds, at least 10 pounds heavier than his coaches would prefer him to weigh when he begins his sophomore season in November. He was closer to 220 when he was out of shape at the start of last season -- and again at the end, when tendinitis in his knees limited his activity.
The Jayhawks need as big a dose as it can get of Collins in as small a package as possible if they are to build on last year's NCAA Tournament success. Even though power forward Julian Wright is gone for good to the NBA draft and small forward Brandon Rush is no better than 50/50 to return to KU, there is enough talent to again compete with the best teams.
For that to occur, Collins has to be the dynamic, game-changing point guard he was in a late-February victory at Kansas State or in the Big 12 championship game against Texas. Several freshman point guards made a more profound impact on the past college basketball season - D.J. Augustin at Texas, Mike Conley at Ohio State, Tywon Lawson at North Carolina - but Collins was limited by opportunity and conditioning, not by ability.
Collins was behind at the start because he was heavy, and it would have been impossible for him to crack the lineup because he joined a team with an established veteran, Russell Robinson, at point guard. Although Robinson is not as blessed with playmaking skills, he is a leader who needed to start.
If everything goes as planned, though, Collins will be the starting point this season. Presuming Rush is gone, there is little doubt Kansas will open the season with Collins, Robinson and junior Mario Chalmers in a three-small alignment. If Rush changes his mind and returns, there'll be some other accommodation made, because what Collins can bring to the Jayhawks can't be bottled on the bench for another year.
Of all the top point guards in the recruiting class of 2006, Collins is the strongest, most explosive and probably the best long-range shooter. He does not have Conley's athleticism or stunning decision-making ability. He does not have Tywon Lawson's end-to-end speed. He is not as consistent as Augustin.
Collins, however, is the most likely to go on a game-turning run against a top opponent. He feeds on momentum he generates himself. What will place Collins in the same category as the others is becoming more dependable in affecting games. A week after that big performance at K-State, he went 0-for-5 from the field in a visit to Oklahoma. Not only was he shut out as a scorer, he passed for only two assists and did not get to the foul line. All that in 33 minutes of playing time.
After rehabbing his knees for about five weeks following the season, Collins was cleared to resume full basketball activity earlier this month. That means not only getting back to skill development, but also getting serious about being in the kind of shape that will make him even more of a pain to defend.
Coach Bill Self loves Collins' talent. He knows he needs more from that talent for the Jayhawks to contend. If Collins looks more like a point guard and less like a fullback the next time you see him, you might be watching more of him in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
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