Player Information
Full Name: Nicholas John Collison
Major: Sport Management
Parents: Dave And Judy Collison
Birthdate: October 26, 1980
Birthplace: Orange City, Iowa
High School: Iowa Falls HS
High School Coach: Dave Collison

Career Highs
Points: 21 vs. Iowa (2-3-00)
Rebounds: 14 vs. Colorado (1-24-00)
Field Goals: 9, Two Times
Field Goal Attempts: 16 vs. Pittsburg State (12-11-99)
Three-Point Field Goals: 1, Five Times
Three-Point Field Goal Attempts: 3 vs. Iowa (2-3-00)
Free Throws: 7 vs. Iowa (2-3-00)
Free Throw Attempts: 8 vs. Iowa (2-3-00)
Assists: 4 vs. Middle Tennessee State (12-5-99)
Steals: 4 vs. Duke (3-19-00)
Blocked Shots: 6 vs. Nebraska (2-23-00)
Minutes Played: 30, Two Times

Honors
2000 Honorable Mention All-Big 12

2000 Big 12 All-Freshmen Team

2000 Big 12 Rookie Of The Week (Two-Time Winner)

2000 Ted Owens Defensive Player Award

A Closer Look
Favorite Food: Steak
Favorite Book: Kiss The Girls
Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld
Favorite Musical Group: Guns 'N' Roses
If I Had Just One CD To Listen To It Would Be: Arrested Development - 3 years, 5 months & 2 days in the life of... Arrested Development
In The Movie Of My Life The Following Actor Would Play Me: Tom Hanks
My Greatest Moment In Sports So Far : Winning Two State Championships In High School
My Advice To Youngsters Is: Stay Away From Power Lines
The Thing I Like Most About KU's Basketball Tradition Is: Contact With Former Players
After A Game I Unwind By: Watching Sportscenter
If I Could Live Anywhere In The World It Would Be: New York City
Favorite NBA Player: Rasheed Wallace
Favorite TV Sports Announcer: Bill Raftery
Favorite Non-Basketball Professional Athlete: Sammy Sosa
Favorite Non-Basketball Professional Team: The Atlanta Braves
Favorite Movie: Forrest Gump
Favorite Cartoon Character: Barney From The Simpsons
Best Player I've Ever Faced: Kevin Garnett

Scouting Report: With all the focus seemingly on Drew Gooden nowadays, look for Collison to bust through the roof at Allen Fieldhouse this season. In his two years at Kansas after coming out of high school as the #2 player in the country (Bob Gibbons), Collison has gradually improved every aspect of his game. Nick Collison is the type of player who you watch and think, he's having a pretty decent game, but then you look at the box score and see 20 points and 13 boards. What I'm saying is that while Gooden will kill you and let you know about it, Collison is the silent assassin. You could make a legitimate case for "Slick Nick" being Kansas' MVP.

A fundamentally sound big man who was Kansas' most consistent performer last season

Displays excellent footwork and a soft touch in the post

Plays primarily with his back to the basket, but has also shown the ability to hit the three

Jayhawks' most effective post defender

Collison is a seasoned veteran of USA Basketball, having competed on four different USA teams in the summer

Came to Kansas after a sterling high school career at Iowa Falls

A McDonald's High School All-American

Coached by his father, Dave, in high school.

Summer, 2000
Named to the 12-man USA College Select Team which practiced against the "Dream Team" in Maui, Hawaii, and played an exhibition game against the NBA talent on Sept. 2... Scored two points and grabbed two boards in a 111-74 loss to the NBA squad... Played for the 12-man 2000 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team, which went 4-1 in a tournament in Brazil... Averaged 8.8 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game while averaging 21.4 minutes... Coached on that squad by Syracuse's Jim Boeheim.

Freshman Season (1999·00)
Started every game with the exception of Senior Day... Ranked third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game and second in rebounding with 6.9 boards per contest... Shot nearly 50 percent from the field (.497) and 67 percent from the line... At 6-9, Collison showed his versatility by knocking down five three-pointers... His 234 rebounds were the third-most by any KU freshman, trailing only Danny Manning and teammate Drew Gooden... Collison's 36 rejections on the year were the second most by any Jayhawk rookie... Posted seven double-doubles... Named honorable mention All-Big 12 by both the league's coaches and the AP... Earned Big 12 All-Freshmen Team honors... A two-time winner of the Big 12 Rookie of the Week award... Given the Ted Owens Team Defensive Player Award... Tabbed the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year... Broke out for his second double-double of the year in a home win over Pittsburg State, going 9-of-16 from the floor en route to 20 points, 10 rebounds, one block, one steal and one assist... His 16 field goal attempts in that game marked a career-high... Dominated in a home win over Colorado on Jan. 24, going 6-for-9 from the field for 15 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals... Played well two games later in his home state, pouring in a career-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds in a loss at Iowa... Tied a career-high with 30 minutes played in an NCAA Tournament overtime win over DePaul, in which he posted 13 points and 10 rebounds... Scored in double-figures 19 times... Led the Jayhawks in scoring five times and in rebounding 12 times... Averaged 22.8 minutes per game.

Summer, 1999
Chosen to play for USA Basketball's Junior World Championship team, which finished 7-1 and captured the silver medal in Portugal... Started all eight games, averaged 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game... Coached by Arizona State's Rob Evans.

High School
Iowa Falls High School, 1999... Averaged 21.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game... Participated in the McDonald's All-America Game, March 24 in Ames, Iowa... Went 8-of-9 from the field for 16 points, helping the West beat the East, 141-128... A Parade second team All-American... Named first team all-state by the Des Moines Register... Co-winner of the Mr. Iowa Basketball award (along with Kirk Hinrich)... A good student who was a member of the National Honor Society in both 1998 and 1999.

Summer, 1998
Played on the U.S. World Youth Games team that went 6-0 in the Dominican Republic, qualifying the U.S. for the world championships... Averaged 6.5 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. and shot a team-high 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the field as the USA won the gold medal.

Personal
Father, Dave, has coached on the high school level for 22 years... In a high school game against Clarion-Goldfield his senior year, Collison's shorts were pulled down to his ankles in the middle of the game by a defender who earned a technical foul.