Sherron Collins played 35 minutes Sunday afternoon, but he was never really out of the game.

The junior guard put Kansas up 40-30 midway through the second half, which forced Dayton to call a time out. Kansas coach Bill Self took the opportunity to pull his floor general and get him some rest on the bench.

Instead of sitting down, Collins stood and mimicked Self’s play calls and directions for two minutes.

“That just shows what type of leader he is,” junior guard Mario Little said. “Making sure everything goes smooth even though he’s not in the game.”

Photo Gallery

Kansas Basketball: NCAA Second Round vs. Dayton

A photo gallery of Kansas' 60-43 win against the Dayton Flyers Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Playing in his home state, sophomore center Cole Aldrich made history with the first triple-double in school history. But after acknowledging Aldrich’s game as one of the greatest individual performances in KU history, Self had a question.

“For the weekend, have we had a guard play as well as Sherron since I’ve been here?” he said.

In two games, with Kansas’ season and his reputation hanging on the outcome, Collins scored 57 points on 23-of-45 shooting and dished out 10 assists while committing just two turnovers. Against Dayton he scored 14 in the first half, which carried Kansas until Aldrich took over.

Asked if the determined look in his eyes was about defending his title, Collins shook his head.

“I just don’t want to lose,” Collins said. “That’s the look in my eyes.”

As the only returning player this year with significant playing experience, Collins knew the team was in his hands. His safety net left for the NBA and Collins was toeing the high rise by himself.

“Last year I could have played 10 minutes and played terrible and we’d still win by 30,” he said.

That certainly hasn’t been the case this season as the Jayhawks have gone 1-4 when Collins has shot 30 percent or worse. That’s why Collins never stops yelling and motivating, even when he’s supposed to take a seat on the bench.

During his two minutes on the bench, Collins didn’t like the way freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor was running the offense.

“It looked like we weren’t going to run a set,” Collins said. “We needed to get a good possession because we were up and we didn’t need to rush anything. I just told them to pull the ball back out and run a play and that’s what they did.”

The play ended with Tyrel Reed missing a three-pointer. In fact, the score didn’t change until Collins re-entered the game, but the Chicago native still liked the way his guys re-grouped and played within the offense.

Early in the season, Collins was dogged by weight concerns and the Jayhawks were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12.

“If you tell Sherron what he can’t do, it’s just motivation for him to do it,” Self said.

Now Collins’ team is headed to the Sweet Sixteen. It’s the third straight trip for Kansas, but Collins has made this one all his own.

“Nobody thought we could get this far,” Collins said. “Nobody thought I could lead a team. It just feels good to be there, and I’m proud of my young guys.”

— — Edited by Grant Treaster