Collins takes his place as a leader on the court

By Case Keefer

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sherron Collins smiles a lot these days.

Collins, junior guard, might to try to hide it, but he can’t stop. The grin that stretches across Collins’ face keeps reappearing.

It comes at all different times. When Collins makes a jump shot or drives to the basket, he’s not afraid to show his joy. He beams when reflecting on last year’s national championship team. Ask him about his new role on this year’s Kansas team and that’s when his smile becomes as wide as the Sears Tower in his native Chicago is tall.

“That’s just me,” Collins said. “It’s my personality, and I just like to smile.”

And who can blame him? Collins has responsibilities for the Jayhawks that no player has possessed in nearly half a decade. For most of coach Bill Self’s six-year tenure at Kansas, his teams have defined sharing success. Players took an equal amount of shots. Go-to guys filled the roster.

Not anymore. Not with this year’s team. The Jayhawks don’t have leaders. They have a leader. Everyone on the team knows whom to look toward when they need instruction. It’s no secret who will control the game during vital possessions. Guess who.

“Sherron is the guy with us,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It’s his team. That’s how I want it.”

And that’s how Self has gotten it thus far. Through two games, Collins is averaging more than 20 points. He’s made five of his 10 three-pointers and more than half of his shots from the field.

Self only expects his numbers to increase from here. No wonder Collins is so overjoyed.

*****

A picture of Collins’ smile is immortalized in every Kansas fan’s head. It even graced the cover of magazines and newspapers.

Collins has called that moment ­— when he launched the basketball into the air at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio at the end of Kansas’ 75-68 national championship victory against Memphis — one of the best of his life. Collins played a key role in the game, scoring 11 points and stealing an in-bounds pass and making a three-pointer seconds later to cut the Jayhawk deficit to six with less than two minutes remaining.

In the six months after the game, Collins reflected fondly on his memories of the championship. He watched the film of the game three times. Perhaps the off-court turmoil during that span prevented him from watching it more.

No less than two weeks after winning the championship, Collins underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. He played through the pain in his left knee all last year knowing it would have to be taken care of right away in the offseason.

While recovering from surgery and visiting his ill father in Chicago, Collins received more bad news. A Douglas Country judge ordered Collins to pay more than $75,000 by default to a woman who accused him of assault in a Jayhawker Towers elevator in June.

“I went through a lot of injuries and tough times this year,” Collins said. “I think I’ve dealt with it pretty good and stayed positive.”

The district attorney cleared Collins of criminal charges later in the summer. The accuser dropped the civil case two weeks ago. Collins said he couldn’t wait to forget about it and start to focus solely on basketball.

Even that, however, seemed difficult at the end of the summer. Collins showed up for the first day of practice before Kansas’ Labor Day weekend trip to Canada for three exhibition games out of shape and overweight.

Self chastised Collins to the media. The coach openly questioned if Collins could become the leader the Jayhawks needed.

Collins got the message. He didn’t hold it against Self for calling him out. Collins said he deserved it. Less than a month later, Self’s comments about Collins changed to phrases such as “model citizen” and “great leader.”

Collins worked hard to regain his standing with Self. Now, he’s not only at the weight he wants to be — 200 pounds — but also in the mind-set he wants to be.

“I’m 100 percent fine,” Collins said. “Nothing is bothering me. I’m good.”

*****

Collins would frown.

If he played poorly in practice or struggled in a game, Collins found it easy to get down on himself during his first two years at Kansas. But veteran Kansas guards Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers would always help him through it.

Collins is using their example and applying it to his situation this season.

“Last year, I was the one asking all the questions,” Collins said. “Now, I’m answering them all.”

Self says he has to be tougher on this year’s team, which is filled with seven newcomers, so they understand the expectations. Collins has developed a knack for spotting young players who are disappointed after a rough practice.

Collins always makes sure to pull them aside and tell them it’s for the better in the long run. He reminds them of the benefits. He points to last year’s National Championship for reference.

“These new guys don’t know everything yet,” Collins said. “Sometimes, I have to tell them what it be. That’s my job, to make sure everyone is on the same page.”

When Collins himself makes a bad play or a mistake in practice, he responds the way he wants his teammates to.

“He doesn’t let it seem like it gets to him,” Travis Releford, freshman guard, said.

But Collins provides far more than practice support to his teammates. When freshman forward Markieff Morris was nervous before the first game, Collins calmed him down.

He encouraged junior college transfer guard Tyrone Appleton while he recovered from a hip flexor injury. Collins has become inseparable from freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor and considers him a “brother.” Collins spends time specifically with Taylor helping to improve his game.

“He’s been through it,” Taylor said. “When I’m frustrated a little bit, he talks me through it a lot. He helps me a lot.”

*****

During the first two games of the season, Collins looked just as much like an orchestra director as a point guard on the floor.

His arms flailed in different directions to tell his teammates where to go on the court. Collins yelled out instructions. He even ran over to defend sophomore guard Tyrel Reed after a Florida Gulf Coast player intentionally fouled Reed by pulling him down to the court.

The two games served as an illustration of how much Collins’ teammates mean to him. It’s just as clear how much Collins means to them.

“He’s the best point guard in the country,” Brady Morningstar, sophomore guard, said.

They all believe in him. They all think Collins is the one who can lead Kansas to the top of the college basketball world.

Even Self. The coach who doubted Collins’ leadership ability three months ago now describes the upcoming Kansas season as “Sherron’s Show.” Self said Collins could take up to 20 shots per game.

“I don’t know about the 20 shots a game thing,” Collins said. “But I’m glad he gives me the freedom to go get a shot anytime I want to or go get something going.”

Collins took 11 and 14 shots in the first two games, respectively. It worked because it was all the Jayhawks needed.

When Kansas needs Collins to be more aggressive offensively, he says it won’t be problem. Collins will take the majority of the shots. It’s what Self wants him to do, which greatly contrasts with what Kansas teams have done in the past.

“It’s been a different guy every night,” Self said. “Now more than ever, if Sherron doesn’t play good, there’s a better chance of us not looking good.”

So far, Self hasn’t had to worry about that. Collins’ smile tells the whole story.

— - Edited by Kelsey Hayes

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