Sherron Collins heard more than enough sympathy from students when he returned to class Tuesday after getting surgery for a broken foot.

“I’m not the type of person to really get down on myself,” said Collins, a sophomore guard. “But people will be like, ‘Ahhhh we’re so sorry, are you all right and oh my God.’”

Collins doesn’t feel sorry for himself or his team. He said Kansas would do fine while he was gone for six weeks. The Jayhawks play Washburn at 7 p.m. in their first game without Collins.

The foot injury happened Sunday night against UMKC. Collins drove hard to the basket for a lay-up and landed awkwardly. He returned to the game with his ankle taped, but he didn’t play with same explosiveness.

“I knew when I got back out there something wasn’t feeling right, and it wasn’t my ankle,” he said. “It was my foot.”

Players need to step up for Collins, who is the team’s leading scorer at 16 points per game. Kansas coach Bill Self said it started with the other two guards, junior Mario Chalmers and senior Russell Robinson.

“There’s less margin for error in that if Mario or Russell aren’t making shots, then Sherron could,” Self said. “Now, those guys need to play well. They need to stay out of foul trouble. Without Brandon being full strength, and without Sherron, we need those guys to be impact players nightly.”

With Collins out, reserves Jeremy Case, Rodrick Stewart and Tyrel Reed will also be counted on to contribute more. Stewart will start tonight against Washburn and probably for the next few games until junior guard Brandon Rush works himself into shape.

Stewart, a senior guard, came off the bench the first two games and played well, averaging 4.5 points per game and was fourth on the team in assists. Earlier this year, Self called him the best defender on the team.

No one would have guessed this a year ago when he was barely getting off the bench in his second season after transferring from Southern California.

“To be honest, I think last year, I wouldn’t deserve to start at all,” Stewart said. “But this year, I’ve put in the work over the summer. I’m prepared for stuff like this. If he wants me to start or come off the bench, I’m going to be a spark regardless. I’m going to bring the energy.”

Reed, a freshman guard, said he never expected the opportunity for this much playing time. He’ll need to play more consistently to make the best of his extra minutes. Reed scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting Friday against Louisiana-Monroe. It was a different story against UMKC. He went scoreless in nine minutes.

Not only do the Jayhawks need Reed to become more consistent offensively, they need him to become a better defender. Reed started off his college career by getting burned by a Pittsburg State player in the first exhibition game. He said he was still adjusting to the speed of the college level.

“It’s just a transition that I have to get used to,” Reed said. “It’s coming along. The coaches are real good about helping me out every day and helping me get better. Every Division I player is there for a reason, and everyone is such a good athlete. Just me going from high school to college is a big transition.”

Reed will be challenged for minutes by Case, someone who plays a similar game. Like Reed, he is a shooter who needs to work on his defense to get more than the five minutes per game he’s been averaging to start the year.

Whether it’s Case, Reed or Stewart who got the majority of the newly available minutes, Stewart said the team would be ready to move on without Collins.

“This is a time to pull together and make this thing work,” he said. “We’ve been doing this without Brandon, and now we’ll have to do it again without Sherron.”

Edited by Kaitlyn Syring