KANSAS 75, UNLV 56
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
5B
Collins'injury doesn't fazetournament performance
BY RUSTIN DODD
dodd@kansan.com
OMAHA, Neb. — Kansas coach Bill Self was the first to admit it: There was little coaching involved. He simply gave the ball to Sherron Collins.
A scrappy UNLV squad had Kansas holding on to a 44-37 lead with 13 minutes left in the second half. With seven seconds left on the shot clock, Collins dipped into the lane, slipped past one defender and laid the ball in with his left hand.
"That's not coaching, that's just giving the ball to a guy and getting out of his way," Self said.
Collins, Kansas' diminutive combo-guard, scored 10 point
Sas diminutive
mindguard, scored 10 points
all in the second half — against
UNLV and helped Kansas into the
Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
"He's a different element to
our team," Self said. "He can go make a basket that you don't have to run offense for"
Collins' patented drives were missing from Kansas March run last season. With Kansas' season
with a flurry of second-half finishes.
"I take pride in getting the ball and making something happen, and being a spark plug off the bench," Collins said.
Kansas needed that spark on Saturday. UNLV guards Wink Adams and Curtis Terry had controlled the tempo in the first half. Kansas went to the locker room having scored just 34 first-half points. Collins said Self told his guards they had to go make plays.
With Kansas leading 48-41 with 11 minutes left, Self called on his guards again. If UNLV was going to play a slow, grinding style, Self was going to speed things up. The Jayhawks went to a four-guard line-up featuring Collins, Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush.
"We went small, and we knew there was mismatch out there somewhere," Collins said. "It was
"He's (Collins) a different element to our team. He can go make a basket that you don't have to run offense for."
melting away against UCLA in the Elite Eight, Collins was on the bench, rendered useless by a painful case of knee tendonitis. Collins played just 15 minutes against the Bruins and scoreless.
just a matter of finding it."
Elite Eight experience.
When Collins showed up for Thursday's game against Portland State wearing a knee brace, many feared the worst. Collins collided with teammate
BILL SELF Kansas men's basketball coach
"It left a bitter taste in our mouths," Collins said of last year's Elite. "Eight
Collins found the mismatch and ignited a KU run by scoring six of Kansas' next 12 points. The 12-3 run extended the Kansas lead to 60-44.
"We take pride in games like this where the guards have to step up and make plays. That was the whole game plan." Collins said.
Sweaty and exhausted, Collins rested against his locker inside the Qwest Center after Kansas' second tournament victory. His
Rodrick Stewart in practice last week and bruised his knee. Self said Collins couldn't move at the Jayhawks' practice on Friday.
"We take pride in games like this where the guards have to step up and make plays. That was the whole game plan."
But Collins alleviated some of those initial fears with his second-half performance against UNLV. With UNLV's defense collapsing on Kansas' front court, Collins excited the Qwest Center crowd
SHERRON COLLINS Sophomore guard
padded knee brace was still wrapped around his left knee.
"It's feeling good. It's a little sore." Collins said. "It's nothing I can't deal with."
Injuries r u n i e d
Collins' first NCAA tournament. Collins and the rest of the Jayhawks are looking for a different result this time.
"We're going to try to do this thing right," Collins said.
Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
Sophomore guard Sherron Collins tries to dribble past an UNLV defender during the second half. Collins came off the bench and scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 27 minutes. All 10 of his point came in the second half. Kansas outscored UNLV by 14 in the second half.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Coach Bill Self argues with an official about a foul called in the second half. A total of 46 personal fouls were called during the game, 20 on UNLV and 26 on Kansas.
Senior center Darnell Jackson and sophomore guard Sherron Collins walk off the court together. The Jayhawks had four players in double figures for the game. Jackson finished one bucket shy with eight points. He led Kansas with nine rebounds.
Jon Goerina/KANSAN
PRIME plays
First Half
14:34 — Darrell Arthur steals the ball at mid court and hurries down the court for a flush, one of the few baskets the post players scored all day.
16:44 — UNLV gets whistled for its fifth foul. The referees set the tone early for a game that would be bogged down by fouls.
9:11 — Give credit to Wink Adams for continually going into the lane. He took a lot of hits but not on this play. Adams drives to the basket to square the game at 15.
6. 13 — Here's Russell Robinson's first big play. He drives to the hoop and sinks a layup while getting fouled. Robinson makes the free throw to give Kansas a 22-21 lead.
Second Half
10:55 — Kansas goes small. Bill Self makes his best decision of the day by using Robinson, Brandon Rush, Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers together.
10:03 — Robinson hits a three-pointer to extend Kansas' lead to 53-42.
7:46 — So, that knee can't be hurting too bad. Collins uses a sick crossover on a play specifically called for him to take the ball to the rack and score.
0:46 — Chalmers makes a three pointer to give Kansas a 75-56 lead. He hit it after hitting the deck just a minute earlier and getting the wind knocked out of him.
Mark Dent