Gene Collier, columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been awarding the Trite Trophy on an annual basis since 1984. He selects the meaningless sports cliche that most drives him crazy.
For the first time, there was a two-time Trite Trophy winner: “It is what it is.” The repeat choice inspired Collier to attempt to reach Ohio State’s Archie Griffin, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, for a comment. Griffin was unavailable. Just as well. He might have said: “It is what it is.”
In order to confirm to himself that cliches are as meaningless as he suspects, Collier sometimes performs demonstrations. Once, he went to a college and threw a record book out a window. It crashed to the ground and did not have any effect on that school’s rivalry game.
When a weak Missouri basketball team visited Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 15, everybody forgot to toss their record books out the window. If not for Sherron Collins, who lost a shoe and found a basket on a hard drive to the hoop and scored 23 points, people would have freaked out even worse than they did for only beating the Tigers by an 80-77 margin.
If it seems discouraging that Kansas needed 23 points from Collins for a homecourt victory over Mizzou, then try this mood-enhancer: Kansas defeated top-ranked Florida, 83-80, without a point, rebound, assist or defensive contribution from Collins, who played seven minutes and committed three personal fouls.
Making the adjustment to a more structured life in terms of academics, diet, and basketball can’t be easy. The driven, talented athlete who didn’t have it easy growing up in Chicago certainly has taken to it all so well, so quickly. He said he has trimmed down to 200 pounds by avoiding fast food and doing special workouts that burned 600 calories. He has brought more control to his game, too, averaging one turnover in the past four games.
All the chatter about KU lacking a leader and a go-to scorer every time the team either loses or doesn’t win by a landslide is bound to fade away. Collins is becoming both. He proved it with one shot. It didn’t go in, and the Jayhawks lost, but he showed a lot taking it. The play called for him to drive for a bucket or a dish. A basket could have forced overtime, assuming an empty Texas Tech possession, giving KU roughly a 50 percent chance of winning the game. Figure a two-point shot would have had about a 60 percent chance of going in, so with that approach, Kansas had about a 30 percent chance of winning.
Collins improvised. He shot a three-pointer that went in and out with 10 seconds remaining. You have to like that he had the guts to take the shot. Plus, it was a smart play, given that his three-point accuracy rate is 45 percent, or, way better than 30 percent.
Collins has looked unstoppable at times lately. He’s so fast and clever with the ball he can get to the lane almost at will. Now that he’s not as wild, he also has improved at feeding the hot hand.
Spiteful fans present another challenge for him today.
“My teammates tell me how tough Missouri will be,” Collins said. “I like when you go to places where the fans say little things. I like it.”
He might not like hearing it from them, but he’ll enjoy shutting them up.
