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Thursday, August 17, 2000
Double dribble They came into the world together on Dec. 2, 1978, and they grew into every basketball coach's fantasy.
The Collins brothers --
pillars at Stanford -- are
at Big Man's CampBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinTwin big men with NBA potential.
Jarron and Jason Collins helped the Stanford Cardinal attain a No. 1 ranking in the polls during the past season and they're at Pete Newell's Big Man's Camp this week at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupi'o Gym, hoping to improve the Cardinal's chances at a national championship this time around.
Stanford was stopped in the NCAA second round by North Carolina last March, and the twins know they bear a lot of responsibility this season in getting the Cardinal back to the Final Four.
They've played basketball together since they were 6, and they won two California state prep titles en route to The Farm.
There were at least 15 solid offers from major colleges when they were Parade and McDonald's All-Americans and honor students at Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood, Calif.
Schools wanted both because they knew the Collins made magic together.
"If any two people play with each other for 15 years, of course they're going to pick up each other's tendencies and habits, and where that person likes the ball," said 6-foot-10, 248-pound Jarron, a power forward.
"We've played together so long, obviously there's a special chemistry between us," said 6-11, 255-pound Jason, a center.
That was never more evident than in a certain pass play against Georgia Tech.
"Jason was at the high post and I was on the baseline," said Jarron. "He caught the ball and turned toward the basket. The opposing team's center came out towards him and Jason put a bounce pass right through his legs, and I just laid it up."
Despite their chemistry on the court (18 points and 12 rebounds per game combined last season), the Collins brothers do have their differences on and off the court.
Jarron has built a reputation on his inside-outside play, punctuated by his deadly fade-away jumper. Jason, a rugged center, adds a physical presence and is a respected shot blocker."There are definitely differences between us," said Jason.
"People always want to group us as, 'the Collins twins,' not realizing that we are individuals.
"Jason has the earrings and the big hair. And I have the more closely cropped hair and no earrings."
Jarron has a major in urban studies while Jason has an economics and communications double major.
"And I'm a little more loose, carefree," said Jason.
"Jarron's more methodical. He likes things in order. He's very neat. I don't really care. If a shirt's on the ground, it's on the ground. I'll pick it up when I get around to it. When we get to a hotel, he's the one to take his clothes out of his bag and put them in the drawers and on the hangers. I'll just leave my clothes in the bag."
Are the twins Felix Unger and Oscar Madison?
"Definitely," said Jason with a smile.
"We live in the same house but we're not roommates. We couldn't be roommates. It wouldn't work."
Nonetheless, the two don't like being apart.
Last season was the first that they were able to play a full season together at Stanford. Knee and wrist injuries in his freshman and sophomore years yielded Jason two medical redshirts.
His only previous memory of Hawaii was incurring the knee injury in Hilo in 1997 during a tournament."It was a different experience for me not playing with my brother," said Jarron who noted that "99 percent" of the time he'd been on hardwood prior to college was with Jason.
"And it was a different experience for him. Going through what he had to go through only made him a stronger person.
"We could've used him in the Final Four (1998). He's a tremendous shot blocker, a tremendous presence inside."
While Jarron is about to become a senior, Jason will be a redshirt sophomore.
That means Jarron will probably get to the NBA ahead of Jason.
"Next year doesn't have to be Jason's last year, but it is mine," said Jarron, seen as an exciting pro prospect because of his skills and maneuverability.
"I've wanted to play in the NBA since I was a little kid, and this is my opportunity.
"The NBA is something we both want. Our hoop dream. If I get there first, Jason will just congratulate me. But we will miss each other."
Jason lowers his head when the NBA draft is mentioned.
"I try not to think about that," he said. "Our family knows that's going to happen one day, that Jarron and I will have to go our separate ways.
"Right now we're trying to enjoy Stanford, and we're focusing on a national championship."