Anthony Collins, the University of South Florida's sophomore point guard, constantly dribbled inside his Houston home, until his mother's patience wore thin.
Some of his best ball-handling moves were reserved for an outdoor court ? in the dark.
"That didn't matter,'' he said. "You're not supposed to be looking at the ball anyway.''
He had 24-hour access to his high-school gymnasium. The same is true at USF's Pam and Les Muma Center. Pickup games are great. So is practicing alone, imagining scenarios, adding to his repertoire, over and over again.
"He's a 6 a.m. guy,'' USF coach Stan Heath said. "He never stops working.''
Collins remains the best hope for a USF turnaround in the Big East Conference. If that begins today when the Bulls (10-8, 1-5) face the No. 24-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-4, 3-3) at the Sun Dome, he'll no doubt be in the middle of things.
"He pretty much is the USF offense,'' Bulls senior forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick said. "We're just trying to get him the shot or he's going to create for someone else. He's definitely a game-changer. His talent is very rare. You're not going to see it from a lot of other players around the country.''
Collins has the great numbers.
He's 10th nationally in assists (6.9) and 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.78). He has five double-digit assist games this season.
His scoring is modest (9.6), but he's a constant threat. The Georgetown Hoyas learned that last Saturday. Collins was scoreless in the first half, then had 14 points in the second half, igniting USF's 61-58 victory.
But his most stunning quality can't be quantified.
As he drives into the paint ? dribbling rapid-fire, between his legs, behind his back ? Collins operates ridiculously low to the ground. He forces contact. He draws in defenders. At times, he is knocked to the floor, but he rarely loses the dribble, looking more like a Harlem Globetrotter than a USF Bull.
"I've never seen anybody do that before, not to that extent,'' Heath said. "He gets so low. He uses his body to shield you off. You wonder what he's doing, how he's doing it. But he still has his head up and he's able to control the ball. Coaches really can't say, 'Hey, we've defended this situation before.' You don't see it and it creates problems.''
It created problems for Georgetown.
"No one has kept him out of the lane yet,'' Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. "We planned on trying, but we ended up watching him too much instead of knowing where our guys were, once he had penetration into the middle. ?He's terrific.''
Collins, charitably listed as 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, was a second-team All-Big East selection in the preseason. He was nominated for the Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard, but didn't make the cut to the last 20 selections.
"There are a lot of guys out there with big reps,'' Heath said. "One thing that hurts A.C. is (scoring) numbers make a difference. His assists are at the level you want them to be. If he could hover at 13 or 14 (points per game), I think it's a no-brainer, a slam-dunk. He has a few more years to get on the list (for awards).''
Meantime, USF fans will marvel (and opponents will cringe) as Collins drives into the paint.
"I try to be creative,'' Collins said. "Basketball is supposed to be fun, so I try to have fun while playing. That's who I've always been.''
Some of his best ball-handling moves were reserved for an outdoor court ? in the dark.
"That didn't matter,'' he said. "You're not supposed to be looking at the ball anyway.''
He had 24-hour access to his high-school gymnasium. The same is true at USF's Pam and Les Muma Center. Pickup games are great. So is practicing alone, imagining scenarios, adding to his repertoire, over and over again.
"He's a 6 a.m. guy,'' USF coach Stan Heath said. "He never stops working.''
Collins remains the best hope for a USF turnaround in the Big East Conference. If that begins today when the Bulls (10-8, 1-5) face the No. 24-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-4, 3-3) at the Sun Dome, he'll no doubt be in the middle of things.
"He pretty much is the USF offense,'' Bulls senior forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick said. "We're just trying to get him the shot or he's going to create for someone else. He's definitely a game-changer. His talent is very rare. You're not going to see it from a lot of other players around the country.''
Collins has the great numbers.
He's 10th nationally in assists (6.9) and 20th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.78). He has five double-digit assist games this season.
His scoring is modest (9.6), but he's a constant threat. The Georgetown Hoyas learned that last Saturday. Collins was scoreless in the first half, then had 14 points in the second half, igniting USF's 61-58 victory.
But his most stunning quality can't be quantified.
As he drives into the paint ? dribbling rapid-fire, between his legs, behind his back ? Collins operates ridiculously low to the ground. He forces contact. He draws in defenders. At times, he is knocked to the floor, but he rarely loses the dribble, looking more like a Harlem Globetrotter than a USF Bull.
"I've never seen anybody do that before, not to that extent,'' Heath said. "He gets so low. He uses his body to shield you off. You wonder what he's doing, how he's doing it. But he still has his head up and he's able to control the ball. Coaches really can't say, 'Hey, we've defended this situation before.' You don't see it and it creates problems.''
It created problems for Georgetown.
"No one has kept him out of the lane yet,'' Hoyas coach John Thompson III said. "We planned on trying, but we ended up watching him too much instead of knowing where our guys were, once he had penetration into the middle. ?He's terrific.''
Collins, charitably listed as 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, was a second-team All-Big East selection in the preseason. He was nominated for the Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard, but didn't make the cut to the last 20 selections.
"There are a lot of guys out there with big reps,'' Heath said. "One thing that hurts A.C. is (scoring) numbers make a difference. His assists are at the level you want them to be. If he could hover at 13 or 14 (points per game), I think it's a no-brainer, a slam-dunk. He has a few more years to get on the list (for awards).''
Meantime, USF fans will marvel (and opponents will cringe) as Collins drives into the paint.
"I try to be creative,'' Collins said. "Basketball is supposed to be fun, so I try to have fun while playing. That's who I've always been.''
