At the beginning of the season Kansas basketball fans debated who should be the starting point guard, senior Russell Robinson or sophomore Sherron Collins.

Three months later and the argument seems to be as pointless as suggesting the Jayhawks should wear pink jerseys occasionally. In an 83-59 victory against Iowa State last night, a common theme of the season happened again: Robinson impressed and Collins disappointed.

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Kansas Basketball vs. Iowa State

Endorsing Collins as the starter in November was easy because of the way he energized the Jayhawks last season. When the Kansas offense started looking as stale as bread from a dirty Italian restaurant, Collins fixed it by penetrating the lane possession after possession.

But against Iowa State Collins shot only 1-for-8 from the field, continuing a two week slump in which he is only shooting 30 percent. He continually hesitated instead of bursting inside to the basket. Robinson was the point guard who attacked the basket fearlessly. Robinson made four of five shots, scored 11 points and dished out four assists.

“The game came to me, I got some easy looks,” Robinson said. “I was a little aggressive and made some baskets.”

But the way he made his shots were far more impressive than any shooting statistics. When the game was still close early in the first half, Robinson found himself with the ball directly under the basket. He didn’t let the lengthy Iowa State frontcourt deter him from going up strong and double-pumping before dropping the ball in the hoop.

After the Jayhawks came out of the locker room at halftime, Robinson made a three-point play and forced two turnovers with staunch defense.

“I thought Russell starting the second half was the guy who set the tone,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

It was nothing new. Although most people can’t imagine Robinson not starting because his accompanying, ‘New York, New York,’ chant wouldn’t blast through Allen Fieldhouse, it’s more than that.

Robinson is Santa’s elf or the police hound that catches the wanted fugitive, an integral part of the process but one who is often overlooked. He throws the lobs that make it onto Sportscenter but is never the one that graces the nightly Top Ten.

Without Robinson, however, these Jayhawks might not be undefeated. He scored a team-high 17 points in the narrow victory at Georgia Tech and has teamed with sophomore guard Mario Chalmers to form one of the most feared defensive backcourts in college basketball.

Collins, for the most part, has struggled since coming back from an ankle injury. Against the Cyclones, he missed three wide open jump shots and under threw two alley-oop passes.

Self said he wasn’t concerned by the way Collins played. He said that although it hasn’t been publicized, Collins turned his ankle two weeks ago and was fighting through pain.

If Collins’ struggles are because of a nagging injury, that’s great for the Jayhawks. Robinson may be the obvious starter but to keep a magical season alive, they’ll need both of them.

—Edited by Mandy Earles