Monday, January 15, 2007
A different rivalry invigorated Sherron Collins Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Sure, the freshman guard had heard about the bad blood between Missouri and Kansas, but he didn’t know what to expect.
“I really didn’t know how big this rivalry was,” Collins said, “and how much it meant to everybody.”
Photo by Anna Faltermeier
Guard Sherron Collins goes up for a lay up in Monday night's 80-77 victory against Missouri. Collins finished the game with a career-high 23 points.
Instead, Collins drew on his high school battles with Missouri guard Stefhon Hannah to fire him up for the game that he ended up taking over. Collins scored 23 points, several of which came down the stretch, to lead Kansas to an 80-77 victory against Missouri.
Collins knew beforehand what to expect from the guard, who is Missouri’s leading scorer, after splitting two meetings with him on the hardwoods of Chicago.
“He is a great player and great at penetrating off the dribble,” Collins said. “I was pumped for the game and to play him as well.”
It definitely showed. Collins rose to the occasion quickly in the game’s waning minutes, but not with as much speed as he flashed on Kansas’ last and most important basket of the night.
The Tigers had just cut the Jayhawks’ lead to 78-77 with 44 seconds left after a Matt Lawrence three-point play. Collins, who had already played the role of go-to-guy with a corner three-pointer that gave his team a 78-74 lead, stepped up again. He darted past his defender and looked to be on a collision course with the basket after his dangerously speedy move. But Collins controlled himself and scored on an off-balance runner while being hit by Lawrence. Kansas had a three-point lead and the victory.
”We’ve had some unbelievable wins here where guys have taken games over, but I don’t know if remember where one individual took over one game more than he did late in the game today,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “And for a young kid, that’s pretty strong.”
Collins not only finished strongly, he showcased how much he has improved since the season started. Early on in the year, Collins attacked the rim but had trouble finishing, because he was almost too quick for his own good.
Last night, Collins had no trouble harnessing his speed and controlling his showtime moves. He scored nearly every time he took it to the rim, plus contributed by stroking it from outside.
“He was getting to the paint any time he wanted to, making and-one lay-ups, open threes,” freshman forward Darrel Arthur said. “He played excellent tonight.”
The tremendous play from Collins shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. He had been improving nearly every game since Christmas, averaging about nine points and five assists per game since then.
And the bravado shown by Collins at the end of the game? Maybe it was the chance to meet Hannah again, but Collins’ pugnacity was reminiscent of his high school days.
“That’s the point guard that coach Townsend and I saw just about every time we saw him play in high school and AAU, in the attack mode and aggressive,” Self said. “He was just out there ballin.’”
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