A knit KU cap hung low over Sherron Collins’ eyes in the locker room at Ford Field in Detroit. His words were barely audible, partially because of a quiet voice and even more so because he rarely moved his gaze from the ground.

That was Saturday. A day later, he smiled and cheered with his teammates in celebration of their Final Four berth. Happiness returned briefly, but Collins wants more.

A tournament that’s been so successful for Kansas has been sour most of the time for the sophomore guard, Collins. The Jayhawks have won 35 games and are two victories away from a national championship, but Collins laments that he hasn’t been able to do as much as he wants for his team because of injuries and most recently, an illness that Bill Self said was tonsillitis.

“I just don’t feel like myself,” Collins said. “I feel out of touch with myself.”

The unhealthy Sherron story was supposed to be on its final chapter two weeks ago — the one that ends with Collins recovering from regular season injuries to play a big role in the postseason. Everyone expected that to happen after Collins finished the regular season earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors because of his 13-point, seven-assist performance at Texas A&M. Collins followed that game up with a solid Big 12 Tournament.

Then, another injury returned. Two days before Kansas’ first round game against Portland State, he dove for a loose ball at practice and collided with senior guard Rodrick Stewart, bruising his knee. Collins slogged through the first game before erupting for 10 points in the second half against UNLV. He was back, right?

Little did he know that more bad luck struck earlier that day. Stewart had come down with a bad case of tonsillitis and missed KU’s second round game against UNLV. Stewart holed up in his hotel room for the day. No one was supposed to visit. Collins did.

He didn’t walk into the room, but he came to the door.

“You cool?” Collins asked Stewart. “You feeling any better?”

Stewart said Collins was the only player who came by to see him while he was sick. Collins came down with a similar illness later the next week.

“I don’t know if I got him sick,” Stewart said. “I hope not.”

On Friday against Villanova, Collins struggled again, going for four points and three turnovers in 21 minutes. Self said his player wasn’t himself because of the tonsillitis. Collins played more minutes on Sunday but missed seven of his eight shots. He was hurting from his sickness. Kansas, though, might be hurting more without its electric guard.

Few players can drive to the basket with the same speed as Collins. Even with his knee not at full strength against UNLV, he still mustered a couple of his mind-blowing offensive moves.

“When he’s not injured I feel like he’s a top-five point guard in the country,” Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar said. “He’s only a sophomore and he’s that good. He can do so much with the ball, with his quickness, but right now, his explosiveness isn’t the same.”

If Collins’ tonsillitis still lingers against North Carolina, the Jayhawks could be in trouble. Ty Lawson, a McDonald’s All-American from the same graduating class as Collins, will provide a challenge for all the guards. The Tar Heels will run, and no other KU player performs as well in fast-paced games as Collins.

Before practice on Tuesday, Collins said he was fully recovered from his bout with tonsillitis, but that he didn’t feel as good as he has when he’s been at his best this season.

Whether he can be a force on Saturday is unknown, but Collins is not lacking the desire.

“He sees everyone else healthy,” Morningstar said, “and he’s like man, ‘If I was healthy, winning these games, I know we could win by so much more.’ It hurts him, but I know deep down he knows he’s got to play for the team because we still need him. He’s taking it all in stride.”

—Edited by Russell Davies