Ladies and gentlemen, Darren Collison is back.
If you had any concerns about the Bruins’ point guard, forget about it.
If you woke up in the middle of the night with the chills wondering if Collison’s knee was still problematic, you can rest well now.
With two career performances this past weekend at the Oregon schools, scoring 22 and 33 points, Collison has suddenly thrust himself back into the limelight.
At the beginning of the season, Collison was the Bruins’ preseason All-American and the new court general after the departure of Arron Afflalo. Even with the addition of Kevin Love and an offensive post presence that’s been lacking for years, expectations remained high for the junior.
Then in the first exhibition game of the season, Collison injured his knee in what appeared to be a minor problem. Twenty-six days later, he was back on the court wearing a brace that seemed to prohibit his quickness. His ability to slash into the paint and penetrate the lane just didn’t look completely there.
People started to wonder whether it was his injury that was slowing him down, or if he was just having a subpar year.
He played well enough to lead UCLA to a 4-1 conference record as Russell Westbrook took over some of the point guard duties. Collison got the doctor’s OK to go without the brace but his explosiveness from last season still wasn’t showing.
Then the Bruins went to Oregon.
He set his career high in points both against the Ducks with 22, then crushed his own record two nights later against OSU with 33. For the first time all season, he played two complete games like the offensive spark that everyone thought he would be.
He even overshadowed Kevin Love, and that’s hard to do. Love made his own case for Pac-10 Player of the Week with a total of 42 points and 39 rebounds over two games.
At Oregon State on Saturday, Collison was a one-man wrecking crew.
He shot 9-12 from the field and did not miss any of his 13 free throws. It did not matter that the game was actually close in the first half; all Collison had to do was keep shooting.
He even took a couple of Josh Shipp-style 3-pointers from way downtown, showing some flash for whatever NBA scouts were tuned in. Although the competition wasn’t as dangerous as the rest of the teams in the conference, he looked as fresh as he’s been all season. His tenacious defense shut down passing lanes and forced the Beavers’ offense into fits.
It was a very impressive two-game stretch for Collison and it should bode well as all the pieces of UCLA’s team are playing their best basketball at the right time of the year.
Almost halfway through the conference season, and with Collison seemingly fully healthy now, the Bruins should be the team that everyone thought they’d be before the season started.
Collison’s health is also important because if there’s one position where the Bruins lack depth, it’s at guard.
If he stays healthy, there’s no reason for this team to lose another conference game.
If he keeps playing like he has over the past few days, watch out for the Bruins to be cutting down some nets deep in March.
E-mail Feder at jfeder@media.ucla.edu if you think Collison should now be officially nicknamed “The Capitol.”