Collison's UCLA Return Going Well
Darren Collison missed the first three weeks of the UCLA basketball season with a sprained left knee, and it was fair to wonder how rusty the junior point guard out of Etiwanda High School would be when he got back.
He finally returned, Wednesday night, and looked fine -- if a bit encumbered by a knee brace. He scored 14 points and had five assists in 26 minutes of an 83-60 rout of George Washington.
Collison, a preseason All-America, came off the bench. It will be interesting to see if starts when UCLA plays No. 8-ranked Texas on Sunday.
UCLA was concerned how Collison's knee would react to game action. The Bruins didn't practice Thursday, so UCLA coach Ben Howland isn't quite sure how he's doing. But he said today that Collison rode an exercise bike and said he felt fine.
Howland was impressed by Collison's game Wednesday.
“I was really amazed," Howland said of Collison, "No. 1, at how we played after being out of action for 24 days and having had two practices – one of which he was a little hesitant. Monday, he was a little hesitant, thinking about it. Tuesday, he was much better.
"Wednesday, in reviewing the film, he wasn’t even thinking about his leg. Normally, when you’re out for 10 days, two weeks or three weeks, it takes quite a bit of time to get back into a normal rhythm. He’s not where he would be if he had never missed this time. It just speaks to his great athletic ability and what a great player he is to step in and do what he did on Wednesday."
If Collison got through practice OK today, he WILL start in the 5 p.m. Sunday game against Texas, Howland said. And that should make for a serious test of Collison's ability, as well as his knee.
"We’re playing against arguably one of the top two or three point guards in Augustine," Howland said. "He’s really good, and I’m amazed watching this kid on film. We’ve got our hands full just trying to defend him. They’re both really good point guards.”