14
SEASON IN REVIEW
KANSAS 81 79 KANSAS STATE
JANUARY 30, 2010
Collins, Jayhawks pull out big win at K-State
Senior guard Sherron Collins drives to the basket for a lay-up and a drawn foul to put Kansas up by three, 79-76 with nine seconds left in overtime. Collins missed the free-throw but the miss fell into the hands of junior center Cole Aldrich. Collins finished with 16 points and four assists in the Jayhaws' 81-79 victory.
Weston White/KANSAN
By Corey Thibodeaux cthibodeaux@kansan.com
MANHATTAN — Combine the game-winning lay-up against Cornell and locker room return against Memphis, and you have Sherron Collins' latest masterpiece.
The heroes Collins showed in the second half and overtime of the 81-79 victory against Kansas State Saturday were good enough to win an award for "Best Drama."
"He has a flair for the dramatic," coach Bill Self said.
With sophomore forward Marcus Morris fouling out of the game and junior center Cole Aldrich trying to avoid the same fate in the game's final minutes, the Jayhawks needed their leader to take over.
But when Collins limped off the court late in the second half because of cramps, the Jayhawks were without their go-to man.
Collins returned to the game with about a minute left in overtime, and the Jayhawks leading 77-76. Self drew the same play Collins used to topple Cornell earlier this season and it yielded the same result. He drove to the hoop, put up a wild shot and sank it while drawing the foul.
"Really, I was just trying to get fouled and get to the line, but it was open so I scored it," Collins said. "It felt good. Especially against K-State."
With 16 points and four assists, Collins said he tweaked his ankle at one point. But it was cramps from pregame warm-ups that caused him to leave the game.
"I think I wasted too much energy just waiting on the game," Collins said."Coach had to tell me in pregame to calm down."
For the Jayhawks to win that game, they needed a player not only with the skill set, but the will to carry his team to victory in the most dire situations. Luckily, Collins is that type of player.
"He's the best player in America to me," junior guard Brady Morningstar said. "He's huge for us in the clutch. When we need a score,
we give the ball to him and he goes and does what I call'makes money."
In the first half, the two best players were the starting big men. Aldrich had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but had to play less aggressively so he wouldn't foul out late in the game.Morris had 13 points and 10 rebounds and fouled out with about four minutes to go in regulation.
And like so many times before, Aldrich watched as his teammate took over in the waning minutes.
"If anybody, I want Sherron taking the shot," he said. "I love Sherron. We've been through so much and I've got all the confidence in him in the world."
To keep the game close when Collins sat out, the Jayhawks needed sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor's 12 points and Morningstar's 14. With three of their top four scorers laboring, Morningstar said the whole team had to step up.
Collins scored a total of 17 points in his previous two games, both blowouts. Looking back at Memphis, Cornell, Nebraska and Baylor, just to name a few games Collins took over in this year, he isn't surprising anybody at this point.
"We need to learn how to play without a couple of our key players and that's how you grow up as a team," he said.
"I'm not shocked at all," Morningstar said, "I see it in practice, I see it in games. He's a ball player, that's what he does."
With No.1 Kentucky losing earlier in the week and No.2 Kansas toppling a No.11 K-State team, the No.1 ranking is most likely back with the Jayhawks. But Collins said being two games up in the Big 12 means more at this point.
Playing the way they are right now, the Jayhawks have much loftier goals.
"Rankings don't mean anything because at the end of the year, there's only going to be one No.1," Collins said.
THE WAVE APRIL 7,2010
+
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN