Darren Collison has met and exceeded any expectations that were placed on him at the beginning of the year.
But after hitting a high point in his season in road games against Arizona and Arizona State three weeks ago, the sophomore point guard has gone through a rough stretch of games. In particular, Collison’s shooting numbers have been way down from where they have been all season.
After the Arizona game on Feb. 17, Collison was shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 51.2 percent from 3-point range for the season. In his four games since, Collison has shot just 11-40 (27.5 percent) from the field and has only made one of his nine 3-point attempts (11.1 percent).
The loss at Washington on Saturday was a low point for Collison, as he made just two of his 15 shots in 32 minutes of action ““ and most importantly, his team lost.
“In a game like (the Washington game), you’re on the road in a hostile environment ““ there’s so many things on your mind, but that’s something you’ve got to learn to get over,” Collison said.
“(Games like Saturday’s) are the games that get you better.”
With the way Collision approaches the game, coach Ben Howland and the rest of the guard’s teammates are not worried. They know he has been responsible for a good part of the team’s success this season.
“He’s had an unbelievable year,” Howland said. “If (the Pac-10 Player of the Year) wasn’t Arron (Afflalo), it would have been him.”
Junior guard Afflalo, who was critical of Collison’s performance against Washington, is particularly confident that Collison’s shooting will bounce back for the Pac-10 Tournament.
“Darren’s a self-motivated type of player, just as I am,” Afflalo said. “He’s not going to be distracted by anything ““ the next shot is a brand-new shot. It’s all mental.
“If it comes down to it and there’s time running down on the clock, Darren will make that shot.”
For Collison, a big challenge will be gaining back that psychological edge he has had all year shooting the basketball.
“Sometimes it can be a mental thing when you’re messing with yourself,” Collison said. “But at the same time, you always have to be confident in yourself. If you know you can hit that shot, then you’ve got to shoot it with confidence.”
ABOYA UPDATE: Howland continues to be optimistic about the return of Alfred Aboya for Thursday’s game. Aboya, who sat out the game against Washington with a left-knee contusion, went through practice for the first time on Tuesday and is confident he’ll be good to go.
“I’m playing,” Aboya said. “I’ll just go out there and play hard as I usually do. If it hurts, I’ll just have to be pulled out of the game. If it doesn’t, great.”
TEAMMATES HAPPY FOR AFFLALO: Afflalo’s work ethic and determination this season have set a benchmark for the rest of the players on the team. That’s why his teammates were thrilled to learn Monday that he had received Pac-10 Player of the Year honors.
“He’s a leader, he sets an example, he never gets into trouble, and that’s always something you want from your captain,” Collison said.
“We don’t have any seniors on the team, but I think everybody looks up to him.”
Afflalo’s dedication to the game has particularly left an impression on his teammates.
“He likes to shoot,” sophomore forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute joked when asked about Afflalo’s off-court hobbies.
“Off the court is on the court for him. He’s just all about getting better. He makes you better ““ by him working hard, you just want to work as hard as he does.”
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT BEGINS: UCLA will find out who its first Pac-10 Tournament game will be against after the tournament begins tonight. Eighth-seeded California opens up the tournament against ninth-seeded Oregon State at 6 p.m., and the winner will take on the Bruins.
In the nightcap, seventh-seeded Washington plays against 10th-seeded Arizona State.
“We have business to take care of starting Thursday with Cal or Oregon State,” Howland said.