Kansas' Sherron Collins Recipient of 2010 Lute Olson Player of the Year Award
April 2, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS — After finishing one of the most distinguished careers in this history of the storied Kansas program, Sherron Collins has been named the winner of the inaugural Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award. Collins was honored with the award at the collegeinsider.com awards banquet Friday afternoon in Indianapolis.
This past season the Chicago native’s exemplary play helped keep the Jayhawks near the top of the national rankings all season. His 85.5 percent mark from the free throw line ranked third in the Big 12 and 44th nationally. He was also fifth in the league in assists (4.5 apg) and 10th in scoring (15.5 ppg)
During his time with Kansas, the program experienced one of its most successful periods: the 2008 national title, four Big 12 regular-season championships, three league tourney titles and two NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearances. He earned the 2008 Big 12 Sixth Man Award as voted on by the league coaches and was the 2010 most outstanding player of the Big 12 Championship. Additionally, Collins experienced a school-record 130 victories in his four seasons at KU.
The Lute Olson Award will be presented annually to the nation’s top Division I player who has played at least two seasons with his respective team. Freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible.
The award is named in honor of coaching great Lute Olson, who won 780 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997.
Award Selection Committee: Jeff Barber (Liberty), Karl Benson (Western Athletic Conference), Ron Bertovich (Colonial Athletic Association), Rick Boyages (Big Ten), Max Casanova (Fox College Sports), Tom Crean (Indiana), Joe Dwyer (CollegeInsider.com), Mike Ellis (Virginia Commonwealth), Jim Harrick (Former UCLA Head Coach), Jordan Hill (New York Knicks), Jay John (California Berkley), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers), Ken Kavanaugh (Florida Gulf Coast), Steve Kerr (Phoenix Suns), Eric Lautenbach (Nike), Steve Lavin (ESPN), Angela Lento (CollegeInsider.com), Todd Lickliter (Former Iowa Head Coach), Jim Livengood (UNLV), Lute Olson (Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame), Richard Paige University of Arizona), Josh Pastner (Memphis), Russ Pennell (Grand Canyon University), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Rob Spear (Idaho), Damon Stoudamire (Memphis Grizzlies), Scott Thompson (University of Arizona), Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks), Larry Williams (Portland), Jamie Zaninovich (West Coast Conference).
