Monday, April 21, 2008

KU guard Collins undergoes successful knee surgery; Taylor to visit KU

By J-W Staff Reports

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Kansas University sophomore guard Sherron Collins underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery Monday, news announced by KU coach Bill Self.

The operation was performed on Collins' left knee.

"Sherron had some knee problems this year and we knew it was going to require surgery after the season," Self said. "He toughed it out and was a primary reason for our success this year.

"Doctors said the surgery went very well and anticipate no complications. Sherron should be starting rehab soon and doctors expect a full recovery. With the season recently ending, he has plenty of time to heal."

Collins averaged 9.3 points and 3.1 assists for the Jayhawks this season while battling a multitude of lower body injuries.

For more on this story, log back onto KUSports.com and read Tuesday's Journal-World.

Taylor to visit KU Wednesday

Tyshawn Taylor, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from St. Anthony's (N.J.) told Rivals.com that he plans to visit KU this Wednesday.

Taylor was recently released from his letter of intent by Marquette in the wake of coach Tom Crean departing for Indiana.

The Jayhawks still have one scholarship open should Darrell Arthur remain in the NBA Draft pool. The Jayhawks already have six players signed for next season.

For more on this story, log back onto KUSports.com and read Tuesday's Journal-World.

Comments

chuckberry32 (anonymous) says...

I hope he doesn't lose that sixth gear of his! Get well soon Sheron!

April 21, 2008 at 11:59 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kansaspike (anonymous) says...

Wow, I feel like it's a small miracle he made it through the entire tourney......a tough little guy!

April 21, 2008 at 12:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

trmatlock (anonymous) says...

Is there a noteable 'big' out there who would like to play for a National Championship team? Come on! There is no better program in the country.

April 21, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...

That takes some guts to play through that kind of pain. Had Sherron not done that, we would not be a national champion. His return lifted us to another level at the end of the regular season and tournament, and that steal and three at the end of regulation in the championship was just as huge of a play as Mario's shot, just doesn't have the same national hype. It's a sign of a true competitor who's willing to play that hard with a bad knee and lift his team up. What an athlete.

My only concern is his trouble with weight. I hope being off his leg for a bit won't set him back too far. We all know how hard he's worked to get his body in shape. Stay strong Sherron, you will be the marquee guy next year.

April 21, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KUbsee69 (anonymous) says...

Was this surgery for the "it's just a bruise" injury?

April 21, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

aledell (anonymous) says...

4 words: deep bruise my a$$

thank you Sherron for toughing it out!

April 21, 2008 at 12:33 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

This kid's tough. I just hope for his sake that injuries don't end up costing him a career. He goes 100% every time he's in the game. His aggressive play is great, but maybe he's gonna have to protect those knees a little bit.

April 21, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

Sherron.......You're the man. Thanks for overcoming all the physical and personal pain you've endured over the past 2 years.

Tyshawn Taylor? Wow! Bill Self never ceases to amaze. If Mario decides to declare for the draft, Tyshawn would definitely take the sting out of the loss.

Notice how we're really starting to make serious inroads to recruiting the northeast? We've already got 3 kids with Jersey ties coming in with this recruiting class. You can say what you want about the stereotype, but I think there's something to the toughness of those kids compared to the California recruits of one of our former coaches.

April 21, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

mvjayhawk (anonymous) says...

You really have to credit Sherron for making it thru the season, and contributing like he did.

if he EVER gets totally healthy....(fingers crossed), the sky's the limit for this kid. Rock Chalk Sherron! Good luck in the rehab!

April 21, 2008 at 1:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Sounds like Tyshawn Taylor is insurance in case Mario leaves. Goodness practices should be insanely intense in the fall.

Isn't Morgan or the Sudanese guy the insurance for Darrell actually staying in the draft?

April 21, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Agreed...Sherron, you are da' man!!!! Thanks for putting KU above yourself.

April 21, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Hmmmm...D.A. or Tyshawn??? Um, yeah, I would rather keep D.A.

April 21, 2008 at 2:20 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

chicagoeddie (anonymous) says...

Can anyone say "Self Stadium" ?
Scenario - 2018
Coach - Bill Self
Natl Championships under Self - 3

Random Guy1: Hey are you going to watch the game today?

Random Guy2: Where they playing? Allen or Self?

Randhom Guy1:Self??

Random Guy2: YEa! They just finished building Self Stadium and Allen Field house is a museum now! =)

Rock Chalk!

April 21, 2008 at 2:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

FortWorthJayhawk (anonymous) says...

Chicagoeddie, I hope that isn't the case... I'd rather see something else in Bill Self's name instead of moving out of Allen Fieldhouse. The Fieldhouse is amazing because of it's history. Kansas doesn't need a big new arena to play in that looks just like every other school's building. Maybe I'm just sentimental...

The 3 Nat'l Championships would be nice though!

April 21, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

jayhawkinatl,

We don't have to lose DA to get Tyshawn. We already had six scholarships open for the guys that were coming in. 5 scholarship seniors leaving plus the one back from the end of the NCAA penalties = the 6 scholies for the six incoming recruits.

Rush is definitely gone because you can't declare twice and come back, so that makes 7 openings even if DA were to pull out of the draft.

I have a feeling we're going to land Tyshawn whether Mario leaves or not. Even if Mario stayed, he'd get a year of experience under a great point guard as a freshman. The next year, Appleton and Collins would be seniors (if they stayed), and Reed would be a junior. So there would be plenty of playing time for him as a sophomore as the fourth guard or better. Then with hard work he would almost certainly get his chance to be a starter by junior year.

I think he'd be a great addition to the team. Quality depth right now with a great upside once he gets more physically mature.

April 21, 2008 at 3:26 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhwkfan162515 (anonymous) says...

Just glad Sherron didn't rip his knee to pieces during the tournament, and especially the Memphis game. Where would KU have been if he hadn't been there to pull us within 4, or to give the ball to Mario for the miracle shot?

April 21, 2008 at 3:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

tkeegan (Tom Keegan) says...

For what it's worth, I caught Tyshawn Taylor a couple of times on TV. (Guilty as charged: I always watch Marquette recruits on TV). Looked like a Bill Self-type guard. Long, quick, excellent defender already and has a super high basketball IQ. Real skinny with long arms, explosive leaper, good finisher, absolutely no ego in terms of needing to score. Think a skinnier Russell Robinson with more leaping ability. -- Tom Keegan

April 21, 2008 at 4 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

dannyxo (anonymous) says...

The only way we would have a Self Stadium in 2018 is if we had 10 National Championships under Self by that time. That would not be too bad.

April 21, 2008 at 5:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

carterpatterson (anonymous) says...

I don't want to take anything away from Mario....but what Sherron did just as unbelievable if not more.

The steal and the shot to get us to four....the ball handling to avoid a foul call followed by a pass to Mario for the miracle.

Gutsy...just gutsy. He deserved his own SI cover.

April 21, 2008 at 6:17 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

davidsmom (anonymous) says...

I agree...Sherron is awesome; he always makes a huge difference when he is on the floor. I can hardly wait till basketball season starts again!

April 21, 2008 at 6:34 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

As so many have pointed out, Sherron had every bit as much to do with KU winning as Mario did. The one thing that people forget about, though, is that Sherron also forced a shot against a triple team with under 30 seconds left that could have been a disaster.

Sherron's toughness is tremendous and his fearlessness is unquestioned. It's hard to imagine how good he could be if he stayed healthy. The one thing that he needs to work on is not forcing things quite as much. If he can cut down on the turnovers (especially the unforced ones), everything else will be topnotch.

April 21, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Strikewso (anonymous) says...

I hope Sherron stays all four years, he's going to be a hero in Lawrence for years to come.

Seems like we have a lot of guard already, don't we need a big man?

April 21, 2008 at 9:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

I guess with three guys over 6-8 coming in we will still have pretty decent depth underneath even if some of the guys are playing slightly out of their comfort zone (essentially 3 PF's and only 1 center). The correction I would make to your statement is that we need a quality true center to back up Aldrich. The problem is, unless J'Mison Morgan were to decommit, there really aren't any left on the board for '08.

People also forget that we still have Kleinman at 6-10 and 247 lbs. (okay stop laughing now) This kid had scholarship offers to other D1 schools and chose to walk on here. So he is not just your average crappy walk on that wasn't good enough to go elsewhere. Self likes to play a pretty small 9 man rotation. That's a much different philosophy from Roy ball where he would have two whole five man teams that could take the floor and even a couple of extras that would sometimes get out there. So the fact that Kleinman hasn't played much in his career doesn't necessarily mean that he is a bad player, we were just deep at his postition, so (by Self's philosophy) finding minutes for him would have screwed up the team chemistry.

From what I've seen this kid has gained a ton of muscle since he first got to campus and is now nearly as big as kaun. It's hard to get any rhythym on the court when you only play for a minute or two at a time, but from what I've seen he plays some pretty smart basketball, and finishes his easy open looks. That's actually more than I can say about some of the starting big men that Roy used to recruit. Nobody thinks that Tyrel Reed is a bad player despite the fact that he rarely made the floor last year for exactly the same reason. I know Kleinman didn't have the level of hype around him that Reed did, but he's been around some awfully good coaches and players for the last several years, and there's no reason to think that he couldn't be a capable player.

I think with the lack of a true center to backup Aldrich that Kleinman's experience will likely garner him a fair amount of minutes his senior year, esspecially early in the year.

Marcus Morris currently plays an odd conglomeration of guard/SF/PF. Judging from how Self used Julian, I think he will get most of his minutes at the 4 spot. Thomas and the twins could make a strong 3 man rotation at PF. Even if they are inexperienced, they could seriously wear out some teams underneath.

I think we could see some flashes of real brilliance next year on rare occassions when both Morris twins get on the floor at the same time with nobody at Center. They may occassionally fall into old habits and take over a game. That would be fun to watch.

April 21, 2008 at 11:34 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

MILFdestroyer (anonymous) says...

Sherron is the truth

April 21, 2008 at 11:39 p.m. ( | suggest removal )