COLLINS HAS SOMETHING TO PROVE.Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer He was one of the top players in the Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953, the ACC's twelve member universities compete in twenty sports in the NCAA's Division I. but went through his college career unheralded nationally. When the Clippers saw him available in the second round of the NBA draft The NBA Draft is an annual North American event in which the National Basketball Association's (NBA) thirty teams (29 in the United States and one in Toronto, Canada) can select players who wish to join the league. , they called the Philadelphia 76ers to get the 37th pick to draft him. Three thousand miles away from his Jacksonville, Fla., roots, James Collins James Collins may refer to:
With Malik Sealy's status unknown, the 6-foot-4 fluid shooting guard The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. will look to prove himself playing for the Clippers team in the Fila Summer Pro League The Summer Pro League, officially known as the The Southern California Summer Pro League (SPL) is a basketball league held every summer in Long Beach, California where first and second round draft picks in the NBA are able to improve their skills. starting Saturday. ``I feel like I have a lot to prove,'' said Collins after a Thursday practice. ``I feel I can contribute to the team and I have confidence in my abilities.'' At Florida State, Collins played shooting guard and small forward. The Clippers also will ask him to play point guard. ``We feel he can play both positions,'' Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor (born September 16, 1934 in Washington, D.C.) is a retired American basketball player who played 13 seasons as a forward for the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers. Baylor was a gifted shooter, a strong rebounder, and an accomplished passer. said. ``He can handle the ball and can shoot.'' Collins offset a 46-percent shooting senior season by averaging 5.1 rebounds per game and nearly three assists, both career highs. He averaged 16.6 points as a senior and led the Seminoles to the NIT A measurement of luminance. One nit is equal to one candela per square meter (1cd/m2). Ten thousand nits are equal to one stilb. See candela. Finals. He fared well in the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= predraft workouts and was a projected first-rounder. He watched the draft at home in Jacksonville with his parents, and after the first round went by, he finally got the call that he was a Clipper. ``It's a dream come true just to be drafted,'' said Collins, who played with NBA guards Bob Sura and Charlie Ward at Florida State. ``But dropping was a little disappointing. That just makes me want to go out and prove myself more.'' Most second-rounders are longshots to make the club and the Clippers history supports that. Only four L.A. Clippers second-round picks have played a regular-season game and only 1989 pick Jeff Martin lasted more than a season. However, with Sealy a free agent and Terry Dehere gone, Collins has an opportunity to garner playing time in the backcourt. How much will depend on how he fares in the next few months. The Clippers feel they have found a gem in Collins, who will be joined on the Clippers' summer-league team by veterans Brent Barry, Lamond Murray, Darrick Martin and Eric Piatkowski. ``Whatever I can do, whether it's a lot of minutes or a few minutes, I will do,'' said Collins. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion