Ames, Iowa — Iowa State men's basketball fans can boo until they are blue in the face.
Jeers from the stands apparently do not bother native Iowans Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison, who return to their home state for tonight's Kansas-Iowa State game.
Tipoff is 8:05 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum, where Iowa Falls junior Collison and Sioux City junior Hinrich possess 0-2 records.
"I like it (booing). It gets me fired up to play. I don't have to make friends with any of those people," Collison said.
He scored 15 points and grabbed six boards in a 74-66 loss his freshman year in Ames and tallied eight points with six turnovers in last year's 79-71 loss at Hilton. He's scored 16 points total with 13 rebounds in a pair of losses versus ISU at Allen Fieldhouse.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward is used to being the enemy back home. Iowa State fans, of course, would have preferred the McDonald's All-American play for the Cyclones.
"I heard all that my senior year in high school," Collison said of remarks from angry Cyclone fans. "I knew my first game going in there they'd boo me. People say things to me from time to time, but it doesn't bother me.
"Fans are fans. They don't care about the individual person, but their own interests. People who know me know I made the right decision in coming to Kansas."
Hinrich he scored eight points with three turnovers his freshman year at ISU and 13 points, including three threes, with seven turnovers and four assists last year at Ames shares the same feelings as Collison.
"I expect them to boo me, whatever, it doesn't really matter," Hinrich said. "I try to block it out. It's a little bit extra incentive when you think everybody in the arena hates you. People who would say things to me ... I don't really waste my time messing with them."
Hinrich he's scored 20 points with 10 assists in a pair of losses to ISU at KU has a simple explanation for why he's 0-4 versus the Cyclones in his career.
Overall, KU has dropped five straight against Iowa State.
"What's made it difficult is their players. They've had great teams," Hinrich said. "They've had two really good teams the past two years. They've been really tough."
"Not many guys can take over a game like Tinsley and Fizer," Collison said of Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Fizer, who led the Cyclones over KU in past seasons.
Power forward Fizer helped ISU claim the Big 12 regular-season title two years ago; point guard Tinsley picked up the slack again directing the Cyclones to the leage title last year.
This year, ISU is down a bit the Cyclones are 9-10 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12. KU enters 15-2, 4-0.
Senior forward Tyray Pearson is the team's leading scorer (19.0 ppg) and rebounder (8.4 rpg). Guards Jake Sullivan and Shane Power average 16.2 and 13.1 ppg respectively.
"They don't have the big names they used to have, but guys who are tough as nails," Collison said. "It'd be nice to beat one of their best teams ... still we have not beaten 'em yet. I'm 0-4 against Iowa State and lost to Iowa too. I'll definitely be up for it."
So will Hinrich.
"It bothers me a little bit not beating them, but it's not like every night I can't go to sleep because I haven't beaten Iowa State," Hinrich said. "It's something I want to do. We need it for the conference more than anything. Road games are tough in this conference."
Assistant sports editor Gary Bedore can be reached at 832-7186.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.