Kansas Guard Sherron Collins: The Rising of a Star

If you aren't familiar with Kansas point guard Sherron Collins, get familiar—he's going to be one of the best guards in the NCAA in 2008-2009.

Collins was a McDonald's All-American coming into Kansas as a freshman but let Russell Robinson start at point guard over him—he thought it would keep the team chemistry together.

He was right.

Two years later Collins and Robinson, along with Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush (the four KU guards), would go on to win the 2008 NCAA title.

Collins was recruited as one of the best guards in his class and has a combination of outstanding quickness and devastating strength.

In addition to his great physical strength and athleticism, he also has mental toughness, much of which he got from living in the projects of downtown Chicago.

Put it this way—Sherron Collins is not one to mess with.

Collins made an immediate impact for KU his freshman year.  He brought a toughness and swagger that only some players have.  

He was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year and was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team.

Collins was also a big part of KU's Big 12 Championship run in 2007, scoring 20 points in the conference championship game against Kevin Durant and Texas.

In 2008 Collins got even better and was a huge factor in KU's title run.  Against Michael Beasley and K-State, Collins helped the team get a big win by dropping 18 points.

In both seasons at Kansas, Collins was a bit limited in playing time because he came off the bench and was still in the shadow of Rush and Chalmers, despite having proven himself as one of the elite players on KU and in the Big 12.

One example of his talent was his 23-point performance against Missouri his freshman year, where he could not be stopped off the dribble.

But because Bill Self wanted KU to play a team style of basketball rather than have a go-to guy who gets all the shots, Collins' game was somewhat limited.

However, going into the 2008-2009 season, Rush, Chalmers, and Robinson are gone due to graduation and the draft.

This is now Sherron Collins' team.

Collins will be leading the No. 2 recruiting class in the country and will have a very good center in Cole Aldrich as well.

His full potential will be unleashed this upcoming season and there won't be any debate over who Kansas' go-to guy will be.

If Kansas is down a basket with only seconds remaining, whether it's in its fifth straight Big 12 Championship appearance or the 2009 National Title Game, we know who is going to get the last shot.