KU legend leads Oak Park into state tournament with title hopes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - As several area universities head into the NCAA Tournament hoping to cut down the nets, one local high school team is looking to bring home a championship of its own. And they are doing so with a man with plenty of March experience: Kansas legend Sherron Collins.

“Hit ‘em first, hit ‘em in the mouth and make them call a timeout,” Collins said to his team in the locker room pregame ahead of a Missouri Class 6 state quarterfinal on Friday night.

“One game to get to where we should be. You’re the better team,” Collins tells his team, “so let’s play like it.”

The former Jayhawk star who was a two-time consensus All-American during his time in Lawrence now leads an Oak Park team that has lost just once this season. It’s a special group, Collins said, and one that is comfortable playing together with many dating back to games in sixth and seventh grade.

“Everybody cares about winning,” he said. “Our one goal is just winning.”

The Northmen defeated Blue Springs South, 68-50 on Friday night, improving to 29-1 ahead of the Missouri Class 6 state semifinals.

“We don’t rely on certain guys to score,” Collins told KCTV. “We rely on our depth and it can be any guy on any night.”

The Northmen are now set to play Nixa on Wednesday at noon. Collins, who played a critical role in Kansas’ 2008 national championship run, is just two games away from another title.

“I’m an energy guy,” Collins said. “So I try to give my team as much energy as I have. It’s fun to get to still challenge myself basketball-wise. I’ve got a lot of high-level players and they challenge me every day to get better at my craft and help them to get better at theirs.”

If Oak Park wins Wednesday, they’ll play in the state championship game Thursday at 4 p.m.

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