Nick Collison this summer will find out first-hand if he’s ready to play in the NBA.
So will a batch of pro coaches, scouts and general managers who will be watching every move by Collison, Kansas University’s senior forward, as an alternate/practice player for the USA Men’s World Championship team.
Collison and Duke’s Jason Williams will practice with, and against, the likes of NBA standouts Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen and Elton Brand Aug. 17-28 in San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., and Portland, Ore., helping the pros tune their games for the FIBA World Championships Aug. 29 to Sept. 8 in Indianapolis.
Collison, 6-foot-9, 250 pounds, from Iowa Falls, Iowa, is eligible to play in a pair of exhibition games, but won’t participate in actual FIBA tourney contests, USA Basketball indicated Wednesday in making official Collison’s selection as an alternate.
“I think it will help a lot if I go there and play well,” said Collison, referring to his standing in the 2003 NBA Draft. “There are two NBA coaches coaching the team (George Karl, Gregg Popovich). NBA people will be all around. If I can go and play well, if I can show these people some of the things I can do, I think it’ll be great for me.”
It’s an opportunity precious few college players are afforded.
“I want to be a pro someday. This is almost like an internship kids take for other jobs in college,” Collison said.
“I can show people I can do a lot more things more skills maybe than I’ve shown so far as far as knocking down shots and handling the ball. The NBA is a little different style of game. You have to be able to do that type of thing. If I play hard I think that will impress people.”
Collison has played against the pros once before.
He scored two points and had two rebounds in a USA Basketball-sponsored college exhibition game against the 2000 USA Olympic team.
The collegians, who scrimmaged the pros all week in Maui, Hawaii, lost the practice game, 111-74.
“I was not real confident at that time. I was a little bit skinnier, a little weaker,” said Collison, who at the time was a college sophomore. “I didn’t get a chance to do a lot of things, but I could hold my own. I could box out and rebound against a guy like Antonio McDyess (of Nuggets). Now I am a little more confident.
“All those guys are so big and strong it will be a battle. It’ll be a lot of fun playing against all of them the way they’ve established themselves in the league.”
Collison said it was a no-brainer to say yes to USA Basketball for the seventh time. He has competed for the U.S. World Youth Games Team (1998), the Junior World Championship Team (1999), the Junior Select National Team (1999), the World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team (2000), the College Select Team (2000) and the World Championship for Young Men Team in 2000 that won a gold medal in Brazil.
“This is huge. Any time you have an opportunity to play for your country it’s pretty much your duty to do it,” Collison said. “If your country thinks you can help the team out I think you should do it.
“There’s a lot of people doing things for their country. The least I can do is play basketball. My grandpa served in wars and things like that. If I can play ball, it’s something very small I can do.”
U.S. head coach Karl of the Milwaukee Bucks is appreciative.
“I haven’t seen a whole lot of Nick, but I know he has some experience playing international basketball and I know he will come in well coached,” Karl said. “He’s another big body, a hard worker who understands fundamentals, who will crash the boards and who has some touch around the basket.
“He and Jay (Williams) will come in here with a lot to prove and I think that motivation will be a huge asset.”
Collison doesn’t think he has as much to prove as Duke’s Williams, who is leaving college after his junior year.
“Jason is a great player. I think he’s in a different situation. He is going to the NBA now,” Collison said. “There will be more pressure on him to do well than me. I will try to compete with those guys and see if I can get anything done against that level of competition. If I can do some things I’ll not just try to fit in and pass the ball every time I touch it, that kind of thing, but to try to do some things myself, too.”
