MP3 clip: Coach Williams on Nick's play vs. Iowa State (1-6-03) play Coaches: Collison league's best (3-12-03) 6Sports video reports: Big 12 coaches name Nick Collison player of the year (3-12-03) Woodling: Collison easy to take for granted (2-20-03) Collison gains acclaim (2-07-03) Kansas' Collison crashes on to national scene (01-29-03) Notebook: Collison confident shooting trey (12-25-02) Collison tame off court 11-4-02) Collison hopes to play way into lottery (10-18-02)

Gary Bedore's thoughts: Collison, like Hinrich, easily could have taken the money and turned pro after last season, but elected to return. Good for Collison, who should flourish as KU's main inside man with Drew Gooden in the NBA, and good for KU, which quite frankly, couldn't have afforded to lose the big guy.

Collison is an excellent inside player and also can stick a jump shot, which he figures to do more frequently his senior season. He really does have three-point range and likely will show it more in the NBA than college. KU needs his inside presence more than his outside marksmanship.

But you can bet Collison will fire away from the free throw line extended some his final season.

He can block shots and rebound. He's had foul problems in the past. If he stays healthy, he figures to play 34 minutes a game this season, which should guarantee him a spot on everybody's All-America teams, along with Hinrich.

More on Collison

Full Name: Nicholas John Collison. Favorite Food: Snickers ice cream bar. Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld. What's In CD Player Now: Jay Z. Most Interesting Thing I Did In Summer: Go to Vegas. If I Could Have Dinner With Anyone in World: Jack Black. After College I Plan On: NBA. Favorite Hobby Other Than Basketball: Collecting and watching DVDs. Superstitions: Making a wish at 11:11. Favorite Actor: Tom Hanks. Try to Mold My Game After: Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzski. Chose My Number Because: 44 was taken. Favorite Vacation Spot: New York City. Favorite TV Sports Personality: Bill Raftery, Charles Barkley. Favorite NBA Team: Dallas Mavericks. Favorite NBA Player: Paul Pierce. Following Actor Would Play Me In Movie About My Life: John Cusack. Thing I Like Most About Coach Williams: Desire to win. Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump. Best Player I've Faced: Michael Jordan. Favorite Non Basketball Pro Athlete: Sammy Sosa. Favorite Non Basketball Pro Team: Atlanta Braves. Friends on Other Div. I Teams: Mike Lindemann, Creighton. Highlights: Ranks 17th on KU's all-time scoring list with 1,395 points ... 11th place on all-time rebound list with 763 ... fifth on blocks list with 169 ... 21 career double doubles, good for fifth on all time list ... led Big 12 with 2.2 blocks per game last season ... averaged 15.6 points and 8.3 boards per game and hit 59.2 percent of his shots ... soph year started 23 of 33 games and logged 27.0 minutes per contest. He averaged 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds to rank third and fourth, respectively, on the team ... scored 20 points in nine games ... tallied 18.5 points and 11.8 boards over his last four games. .. had 19 boards versus Seton Hall ... scored career-high 28 vs. Missouri.