Collins, Aldrich named Big 12 Co-Players of Year

By Corey Thibodeaux

Friday, October 9, 2009

Senior guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich are the Big 12 Co-Players of the Year thanks to a vote by conference coaches.

Head coaches from the Big 12 teams voted for players in their own conference and were not allowed to vote for their own athletes. The results were released Thursday.

Despite the abundance of talent in the Big 12, the pair is pleased to be held on high regards with the other coaches.

“We can talk here for 15 minutes with how many good players are here in our conference,” Aldrich said. “To be mentioned at the top is a great honor.”

Collins said he is blessed to get mentioned next to Aldrich as the best player in the nation, but the award does not mean as much as far as the regular season goes.

“It’s just preseason award so the season hasn’t started yet,” he said, “but I’m looking forward to that, though.”

Kansas coach Bill Self said Aldrich may go down as the best true Kansas big man since Wilt Chamberlain and Collins as the one of the winningest player in college history.

“Both Sherron and Cole had great years last season and hopefully that will carry over into this season,” Self said. “They, and our entire team, have prepared very hard for this upcoming year. I am happy for both of them, but they will tell you that preseason honors do not make for a good season. My hope is for them to play at a high level in a league that will be very, very strong.”

This is the second occasion in Big 12 history the honor has been held by two players on the at the same time, the other being Julian Wright and Brandon Rush for Kansas in 2006-07.

— Edited by Lauren Cunningham

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