Tip between the Jayhawks (6-1) and Blue Demons (2-4) is 1 p.m. at Allstate Arena, located in suburban Rosemont, Ill., just down the highway from where Collins grew up.

“It’s a big game, a real big game,” said Collins, KU’s freshman point guard out of Chicago’s Crane High, who said he turned off his cell phone this week to stop all the ticket requests from friends who want to watch the 5-foot-11, 200-pound guard play.

“If we do lose the game, I’d hear about it for several days. I have cousins that go to DePaul. My teammate from high school (Lorenzo Thompson) plays there. I know him real well. I’ve looked forward to it a long time.”

So have some youngsters in inner-city Chicago.

“The Boys and Girls Club I grew up in … they bought a whole section of the arena,” Collins said.

The children at the club consider Collins a hero.

“Not just because I’m from there and did a lot of good things back home basketball wise and school wise, getting to here,” Collins said. “I come from a hard place, a hard area. There’s a lot of kids who look up to me a little bit.”

Like teammate Julian Wright, who hails from Homewood-Flossmoor High, Collins is mighty proud of his hometown of Chicago.

“I follow the Bulls and Illinois a little bit,” Collins said of the University of Illinois. “I follow DePaul a little bit. I didn’t really consider going there. If I’d have stayed home, I’d have gone to Illinois. But I know people who go to both schools. I either played with them or against them. I follow the teams back home. It’s my hometown. Right now I follow the Bears. They’re my team right there.”

Coach Bill Self said Collins figured to play a lot today, but would not start him just for sentiment’s sake.

“No. No. If Sherron plays well, he’ll play plenty of minutes,” Self said. “We won’t make any changes. He’ll be enthused. I’m sure he’ll do well.”

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DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright earned the 200th victory of his career at last week’s Maui Invitational. The Blue Demons downed Chaminade, 93-74, for the milestone win.

“I guess what it means is that I’ve been at it a long time,” Wainwright told the Chicago Tribune.

Wainwright, 60, was happy to hit 200 despite the fact the game was played in a near empty Lahaina Civic Center.

DePaul brought few fans to Hawaii for the Maui Invite, in which the Demons lost to Kentucky and Purdue. Chaminade fans also did not show up en masse.

“My first one (victory) in college was against Coastal Carolina,” said Wainwright, who coached UNC-Wilmington at the time.

“I remember my first win as the freshman B coach in high school (in Denver). I’m really proud of those high school wins. It’s where I learned how to coach,” he added.

“It’s a big thrill to be doing this in my hometown (of Chicago). I need what, 524 to catch coach (Ray) Meyer? I guess I’ll have to start counting all the games I watch.”

An 81-73 loss to Purdue followed the Chaminade game and was DePaul’s last outing – 10 days ago.

“We’re a 20- to 25-minute team right now, and we have to be better than that,” Wainwright told the Trib. “We’re still finding out about ourselves. It (Maui, which included a loss to Kentucky) was a great experience. We could have stayed home and played Whatsamatta U or Piedmont Correspondence School, but what would that prove? When these things happen, you recognize why it happened, address it and learn from it. You can’t be a cocky winner or a sullen loser.”

Self said the layoff would make DePaul tough to prepare for. “Knowing Jerry … the last nine days he’s put in a few things that it’ll be the first time we’ve seen them Saturday,” Self said. “A concern is we don’t know what they’ll do. Whatever they’ve been doing before, I’m sure they’ve tweaked it.”

Wainwright, by the way, led Richmond to a 69-68 victory over Kansas during the 2003-04 season in Allen Fieldhouse. He’s also been an assistant at Wake Forest and coached high school ball in Colorado and Illinois.

“In a short time, Jerry has them ready to make a run in the Big East,” Self said. “This year he has good enough guys. They will be a serious threat.”

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KU’s players, coaches and support staff arrived via charter flight with no travel problems at 7 p.m. Friday.

Chicago had been hit with ice and snow Friday morning, the precipitation stopping about noon, meaning it was clear skies for the Jayhawks. The squad had a shootaround at 7:30 p.m. at Allstate Arena with meetings on tap afterward at the team hotel near O’Hare Airport.