Collins tallies another honor

By Gary Bedore     Apr 3, 2010

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Sherron Collins is all smiles heading back to the huddle during a timeout against Texas A&M in the second half on March 12 in Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas University senior guard Sherron Collins on Saturday was named a 2010 NCAA Consensus All-American, the Jayhawks’ first since Wayne Simien back in 2005.

Collins, who was also tapped as a first team State Farm Coaches All-American on Saturday, also was selected first team by the U.S. Basketball Writers and was second team Associated Press and the Sporting News.

KU junior Cole Aldrich was named a second team NCAA Consensus All-American after being named second team by the coaches group on Saturday.

To earn consensus status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following All-America teams: the AP, USBWA, Sporting News and the NABC. Wikipedia explains that these teams are compiled from a point system computed from the four All-America teams. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and one point for third team. No honorable mention totals are used in the computation. The top five totals plus ties are first team and the next five plus ties are second team.

Aldrich was named second team by the USBWA and third team by the AP.

Collins, who is KU’s winningest player of all-time (130 victories) and fifth-leading scorer in school history, will most assuredly see his jersey hung in Allen Fieldhouse after a five-year waiting period.

Being a consensus All-American was one of the old criteria used by KU officials for jersey retirement consideration. Six years ago, all criteria were abandoned with KU athletic department officials electing to hang the jerseys of players they deem worthy of such an honor, including ones who did not meet the old standards.

“I would say the chances are probably pretty good,” KU coach Bill Self said recently, when asked if Collins’ jersey would hang. “The best player on one of the winningest teams ever (in four-year span), I think, is a pretty good reason it could be hung up there.”

Another of KU’s consensus All-Americans, Wayne Simien, said last month that he’s been told his jersey will be hung in a ceremony sometime during the 2010-11 season.

The original criteria for a retired jersey included KU players named college basketball player of the year, MVP of the NCAA Tournament or being named a four-time All-American. The list was expanded in 1997 to include Ray Evans, who holds the distinction of being an All-American in both football and basketball. The criteria was expanded prior to the 2002-03 season to include consensus first team All-Americans, two-time first team All-Americans and Academic All-American of the Year.

Aldrich is this year’s college basketball Academic All-American of the Year.

First team 2010 consensus All-Americans are: Collins, Evan Turner, John Wall, Wesley Johnson and Scottie Reynolds. Second team: Aldrich, James Anderson, DeMarcus Cousins, Luke Harangody, Jon Scheyer and Greivis Vasquez.

First team State Farm Coaches members: Collins, Johnson, Reynolds, Turner and Wall. Second team: Aldrich, Cousins, Robbie Hummel, Scheyer and Vasquez. Third team: Anderson, Da’Sean Butler, Jimmer Fredette, Harangody and Greg Monroe.

U.S. wins: Incoming KU freshman Royce Woolridge scored six points in the United States’ 71-69 victory over Croatia on Saturday in a first-round Schweitzer basketball tournament contest in Mannheim, Germany. The 6-foot-3 guard from Phoenix went 2-of-9 from the field (2-of-5 the first half) with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. The U.S. will play France today.

Lists overrated sometimes: Butler sophomore standout Gordon Hayward is proof that not all college standouts and future NBA players are highly touted in high school.

Hayward was not ranked in the top 150 of any major recruiting service. The Indiana native chose Butler over Purdue and IUPUI. Both his parents attended Purdue.

Fellow Bulldog members of the Class of 2008 — starters Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored — also were not on anybody’s top 150 lists.

“They didn’t get exposure,” Rivals.com analyst Jerry Meyer told Steve Megaree of Yahoo! Sports. “That’s why Butler’s really good. That’s sort of the formula for these mid-major-type programs. They have to sort of outwork the system and find those guys who aren’t highly visible within the system. … Butler identified those guys and did a great job of developing them. That’s your formula.”

Jayhawk Invitational: Pencil in the weekend of April 30-May 2 for the Jayhawk Invitational basketball tournament (age groups 15-under, 16-under, 17-under) to be held in Allen Fieldhouse and other gyms in town. Rivals.com reports that several top preps, including Wichita’s Perry Ellis, Las Vegas’ Shabazz Muhammad and San Diego’s Angelo Chol are on the early list of possible entries. More details will be available in coming weeks.

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