Editor’s note: This column was written before it was made public that Russell Robinson injured his foot, and that Sherron Collins would take his place in the starting lineup.

Kansas has never had a point guard quite like Sherron Collins — at least not in recent history.

Aaron Miles and Jacque Vaughn were assist men, and Jeff Boschee could hit the three. But none of them were point guards who could get to the basket and score, one who could step up, make the clutch shot and carry a team on his back. That’s Collins in a nutshell.

What makes Collins more likeable is that he has no ego. He is a point guard that takes control of a game yet remains unselfish. Clearly, the way he has been playing warrants him a starter spot.

Coach Bill Self said after the K-State game that Collins was worthy of starting, but Collins said he was OK coming off the bench.

“I don’t want to ruin team chemistry,” Collins said after he carried the Jayhawks against in-state rival K-State with a team-high 20 points.

Collins said he looked at Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers as big brothers and didn’t want to cause any unnecessary distractions.

How can’t you like a player like that?

When you look around the Big 12 Conference, there are a few good point guards — Texas A&M’s Acie Law, Texas’ D.J. Augustin and Texas Tech’s Jarrius Jackson — that have equal or better talent than Collins.

When you look around the country, there are just a few more point guards — Ronald Steele at Alabama, Ty Lawson at North Carolina and Taurean Green at Florida — that might be better than Collins.

But the way Collins has come on since Big 12 play, it’s hard not to mention his name among the best point guards in the nation.

As Kansas’ regular season winds down, it is clear that Collins needs to be in the game at least 30 minutes — he’s too valuable.

No question Robinson is a great defender and assist man, and Chalmers has broke out of his brief shooting slump, but they don’t bring to the table what Collins does.

For now, it’s great that Collins is content being the first man off the bench, but will he be all right coming off the bench next year, too? I know, it’s too early to be thinking about next year, so I’ll stick to this one.

If Kansas wins out and gets some, OK maybe a lot, of help, it will have an chance at a No. 1 seed. It is unlikely the Jayhawks will get it, but on the bright side, the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region would be great too.

Ranked No. 2, the Jayhawks would see first and, hopefully, second round games in Chicago (where Collins and Julian Wright are from) and then move on to St. Louis, again hopefully, for the regional games.

If the Jayhawks are going to make any sort of run in March, Collins will have to carry the team (unless Brandon Rush and Wright play like they did at Missouri).

Davison is an Overland Park senior in journalism.

— Edited by Trevan McGee