Kansas basketball bound for Big 12 title game
The Kansas men's basketball team is headed for the Big 12 Championship after dispatching Texas A&M, thanks to a 21-1 run. Enlarge video
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2010 KU-A&M
Kansas City, Mo. — We’ll find out how smart a basketball team Kansas State is tonight in the Big 12 tournament finals in Sprint Center.
If the Kansas State players talk sparingly to Kansas University senior guard Sherron Collins and in those instances shower him with compliments, then they’re not only talented, but extremely wise as well.
Smart: “My, Mr. Collins, that is one terrific crossover you have.”
Dumb: “You can’t guard me.”
Smart: “Did I mention I think you should be first-team All-American?”
Dumb: “How much weight have you put on?”
Breathe on Collins the wrong way, and he’ll twist it into a slight, and when he does that he’ll reach down your throat, grab your heart, rip it out, stomp on it and laugh at everyone who had the unmitigated gall to hope it still has a few beats left in it.
During the second half of a 79-66 Kansas victory against a Texas A&M team that held a three-point lead at the half, the game developed a street-fight vibe filled with trash-talk, on-purpose accidental bumps, threatening glares, healthy hatred. In other words, it became Sherron’s playground.
From where did all this animosity stem?
“I think it was when they got chippy, pretty much that was it,” Collins said. “They got chippy first. Nobody was doing anything on our side to egg them on. It was something they started.”
If that’s the case, A&M’s not a very smart team. Then again, if the Aggies hadn’t said anything, Collins would have invented a reason to hear something he didn’t like. He plays best when he convinces himself he has been disrespected.
“We knew it was going to be a little chippy,” Collins said. “That’s what good teams do. That played right into my hands. That happened to me all the time in high school, so I like things like that.”
Asked specifically what started the commotion, Collins didn’t sound too sure.
“I really didn’t see it,” he said. “I think it started with Cole (Aldrich) and (Bryan) Davis. I really don’t know.”
He didn’t have to know. The fight was on, and he wasn’t going to let his side lose. He penetrated with a vengeance, set up Tryel Reed and Brady Morningstar for three-pointers, hit one of his own, and then went to work on making sure Xavier Henry felt included. That worked, too.
Collins changed the tone of the game, led his team on a 21-2 run and had 26 points, six assists and just one turnover to show for it.
Just as everyone in blue — which at that point was pretty much everyone in the arena — was trying to put a finger on just what was dragging the nation’s No. 1 team down an unimpressive one-and-a-half games into the conference tourney, Collins turned on the jets.
“We’re trying to get rid of those gears and stay in one gear,” Collins said. “Today we tried hard. We were just playing dumb. ... We had some defensive breakdowns. Once we got those out of the way, we were fine.”
And once he got the Aggies out of the way, he sent an exclamation point the way of a fan who had been taunting him for two nights. He put his hand to his forehead and pulled it way emphatically.
“She was jaw-jacking at me,” Collins said. “I don’t know if it was one of the player’s mother or just an A&M fan, but she was pretty rude to me, so I saluted her.”
She really should have known better. Collins will take his motivating slights wherever he can find them. Even in the stands.
Comments
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grammaddy (anonymous) says…
rock chalk!! Sherron and on and on!
GrandpaJo (anonymous) says…
This story is so one sided. I would like to see A&M's perspective. Sherron did not reresent the team well with his actions in my opinion. I was sad to see the way he acted.
kujayhawk (anonymous) says…
Sherron represented KU much better than Turgeon represented A&M.
redwingsfan1982 (anonymous) says…
Go K-State
BruceWayne (anonymous) says…
the real key to a KSU victory? Stop trying to BE us, and try to BEAT us.
A&M's perspective? One sided? Guess what, no one cares when you lose.
kuphillyjim (anonymous) says…
ive noticed a little too much interaction with the fans from Sherron throughout the season...
that's not being a leader... let's focus on the court boys... still waiting to see 40 minutes of on the court focus.....
but true, turgeon has a little self control problem on the sidelines, and a coach has to be cooler than he is...he reminds me of myself watching the game, but a coach has to be in control..how can you expect your players to be in control of their emotions if you arent?
somebodynew (anonymous) says…
@Grandpajo - I take it then that you did not see the continued "accidental" elbow hits that Davs threw a couple of time before all that started?? It is OK if you didn't, the refs apparently didn't either.
And amen kujayhawk. Turg surprized me a little with that.
tantrazoid (anonymous) says…
I love the Hawks but Collins was being a punk at the end of the game
emptymind (anonymous) says…
Turgeon's always been that way, from his days at Hayden High to KU. He ain't going to change.
Too much talent for A&M to handle
blackfox (anonymous) says…
"ive noticed a little too much interaction with the fans from Sherron throughout the season...
that's not being a leader... let's focus on the court boys"
exactly!
hail2oldku (anonymous) says…
As bad as Turg was last night, that probably pales in comparison to Thad Motta barking at the Michigan bench at the end of the game yesterday.
lasherpa (anonymous) says…
I love it when people tell Sherron..."focus on the action on the court"...
We are 31-2...and he is the winningest Jayhawk of all time. I would say his focus is fine.
All of the extra antics mean nothing...watch how the kids interact as soon as the game is over. No ill will...it's all part of the game...a game that Sherron usually always wins!
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
Davis was bumping into collins all night during dead balls situations. at one point, turgeon was the floor, and it looked like he was yelling at KU players or the ref, and then Coach Manning stepped in to pull his players away, and said something. WOuld be interesting to know what was going on.
merrill (anonymous) says…
Collins appears to be leaving the high road behind. Too much public worship of Collins. Pro basketball will be so much different...... no worship there.
Too much emphasis on Collins and not enough on the team as a whole. If Reed,Aldrich,the twins, Taylor and Henry were not on the floor how good would Collins look?
Face it it takes a whole team to win! Tonight will be no exception.
Go Jayhawks!
blackfox (anonymous) says…
" ku is great" only when they are winning. What happens to all the ku fans when they have a bad season? When they have a bad game or a bad season, these same people will be the first with the negative comments. All of you "arm chair" coaches crack me up!
DRsmith (anonymous) says…
Give me a break. Collins is a chubby little punk that runs his mouth too much. He is good player but would do himself a favor and just play the game.
thebcman (anonymous) says…
Turdgeon looked like a whiny little boy. His players are thugs. I don't care how Sherron behaves as long as he continues to motivate our players to win. However, we cannot sleep-walk thru the first half and expect to go far in the Big Dance. Rock Chalk!
countrygirl (anonymous) says…
Note to Collns--don't let your mouth overload your @$$. One of these days somebody is going to shut it for you.
tophawk87 (anonymous) says…
Sherron Collins was acting like a Chicago thug, that was not true KU sportsmanship that we have come to expect over the years.
Careful how you disparage Turgeon, as he will more than likely be replacing Bill Self
factstraight (anonymous) says…
to blackfox- this is ku, not k-state, I don't think we will really have to worry about that.
somebodynew (anonymous) says…
@blackfox - while you might be right for a lot of the posters here, there are a LOT of true fans who don't immediately disappear or trash talk when things go bad. I count myself among them. Of course, the past has shown that the believers don't normally get on here and post anything during a bad stretch.
merrill - it absolutely does take a whole team to win, but sometimes (at least with this team) they seem to need a leader and someone to respond to. HCBS has said several times this is "Collins' team" and he needs to be the leader. So I think that quite naturally there will be more focus (media) on Collins. I just hope tonight the TEAM is motivated from the start and doesn't need Collins to get them going.
galwaygal (anonymous) says…
My KU son in NYC was watching the game at the ESPN Zone and called after the game to ask what was going on during the bench clearing episode. I said I thought it was preceded by a lot of bumping going on during time outs and trash talking which resulted in the extra curricular stuff. He told me a bunch of folks also watching the game with him were saying how good it was to see the JHawks finally getting angry during a game. That the team too often plays like they're too disconnected from their emotions and that they need to get a little more "chippy" along with staying so focused. IMHO it seems to me that the challenge is for the Hawks to find the right balance of "in your face!" and focused intensity going if they want to win a championship. It doesn't hurt to get all those competitive juices flowing and then use them to focus your play. Mature players use their emotions to ramp up their game while keeping the lid on the anger during the game. But it's hard if you're too young and immature to control all that emotion and use it to produce points. Sorta like fire: warming and life giving when under control or burn your house down when it's outta control.
Go Hawks!
bstew34864 (anonymous) says…
You guys that are dissin sheron crack me up. Hey grandpa this ain't the 50s where kids take two handed set shots and wear shorts tight enough to make their voices five octaves higher.
Sheron is the winningnest basketball player in Kansas history! I mean, think about that for a minute...the winningest player of all time! Think about all the great players we have had here. The team is 30-2 and there are folks dogging sheron becasue he "doesn't represent KU the way he should". Oh, my fault..I forgot most of you are still wishing good ol' Roy was still the coach. "Can't we all just spit in the river and shed a tear for Jayhawk blue" ...right after saying that good ol Roy picked up and left!
Tell me this. What point guard would you rather have running this Jayhawk squad? What point guard would do better? Uh, that's right you can't think of one because there isn't one. Sheron is the best guard KU has had without a doubt. No debate, zip, zippo, done!
Listen, sometimes Sheron has to find ways to motivate himself so sure he talks a little trash, pounds his chest, and glares at the opposing bench. But, how would you stay motivated night in and night out? It is human nature not to get up for the Texas Tech's and A&M's of the world. Give him a break...
Finally, you want to know what is Sheron's greatest assest? The simple fact that he CARES! He cares about the jayhawk tradition, he cares about his teammates, and he cares about winning...by any means necessary. So, hawk haters and fans wishing for the 50s or the days when Roy's boys played finesse ball running the motion offense. Those days are gone. Today is the Self era of hitting the other team in the mouth, throwin some elbows, talkin some trash, but most importantly mannin up and winning some games. Rock Chalk Jayhawk Fools!
b
jumpin_catfish (anonymous) says…
So Tom gets the trash talkin' start first. Just play the game.
newmedia (anonymous) says…
Stay "chippy" but keep your head. No motivation needed, just take one look at Martin on the sideline and that should be enough !! Good luck guys.
Rock Chalk On
rgh (anonymous) says…
You can't let an inferior team take shots at you and get by with it. Any quality team is not going to take it well and will use it for motivation. I learned that long ago when playing and coaching that when you have a better team down, you don't trash talk you just keep playing. If you trash talked OU on the football field, you'd be in serious trouble.
Everything was fine when they congratulated each other in the line though which shows it was not personally. I know Turgeon can be chippy himself but he added a lot of fuel to KU"s fire at the time out. I loved him as a player at KU and respected the heck out of him until his outburst last night. You have got to keep your cool in the heat of the moment which is then what he tried to tell his players during that timeout.
The guys have to play a more complete game tonight but it's nice to see Kansas represented. We don't need OU, Texas, and certainly not Misery in the championship. This could potentially be a great championship game.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go KU.
randysavage (anonymous) says…
tophawk87 (anonymous) says…
Sherron Collins was acting like a Chicago thug, that was not true KU sportsmanship that we have come to expect over the years.
Careful how you disparage Turgeon, as he will more than likely be replacing Bill Self
___________________________________________
Replacing Bill Self??? You're kidding right?? I think you are about 15 years too early on naming a replacement for HCBS. Not to mention the fact that Turg barely breaks the top 5 or 10 prospective replacements....
BruceWayne (anonymous) says…
Turgeon will NEVER coach here. He cut that tie when he went to Farm Tech.
Manning will replace Self when the day comes.
CLARKKENT (anonymous) says…
my gosh bruce, let's hope not.
jmcjike (anonymous) says…
I'm a huge KU fan but really sometimes these thugs we have playing basketball are a joke. Just shut up and play. Winning doesn't excuse everything.
lasherpa (anonymous) says…
jmcjike- why are they thugs?
because they don't act and talk (and ultimately look) like you?
yes...they talk trash...yes they have tattoos...but ultimately yes they are kids.
kids just like the frat kids playing up at Robinson gym everyday...and believe it or not some of the frat kids even talk trash...and even worse some of the frat kids even have tattoos!
except for the frat kids spend every weekend at keggers....while these "thugs" spend every waking moment at practice or in the weight room.
you have no idea what a thug is! these kids work their a#* off everyday...there is no offseason anymore.