Darren Collison
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| Darren Collison | |
|---|---|
 |
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| College | UCLA |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Position | Point guard |
| Class | Junior |
| Career | 2005 – present |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 168 lb (76 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | August 23, 1987 |
| High school | Etiwanda HS, Rancho Cucamonga, California |
Collison is the senior starting point guard for the UCLA Bruins. He averaged about 12.4 points per game and 4.0 assists per game during his career. Collison grew up as a fan of the University of Arizona, but was not recruited by Arizona, and chose UCLA over San Diego State University to serve as a backup to Jordan Farmar in the 2005-06 season. Collison became the starting point guard the following season.
[edit] Career
Collison is known for both his speed and his defensive ability on both ends of the court. During the 2006-07 season, he averaged 2.2 steals per game – the most in the Pacific 10 Conference. He also averaged 5.7 assists (2nd in the Pac 10), as well as a three-point shooting percentage of 44.7 percent.[1] Although Collison was expected by many experts to be a first round pick in the 2007 NBA draft, he returned to UCLA for his Junior Year to help the Bruins reach a 3rd straight Final Four, and potentially a NCAA Championship.
For the 2007-08 season, he has improved his already impressive three-point shooting percentage to 51.7 percent, a school record for a single season. [2] He is also a highly reliable free-throw shooter, averaging 87 percent from the line for the season [3]
[edit] Awards and Recognition
- 2004 CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year
- 2005 CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year
- 2007 All-Pac-10 First Team [4]
- 2008 All-Pac-10 Second Team [5]
- 2008 Pac-10 Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player [6]
- 2008 Associated Press Third Team All-American
- 2008 Collegeinsider.com All-Defensive Team (along with teammate Russell Westbrook)
