Collins: A Place in this World

According to a published report, Jarron Collins will be going to training camp in Portland, this year, rather than Utah.

Collins spent eight seasons in Utah as a center, mostly as a backup. He wasn’t fast, didn’t jump high and didn’t have much range. He was undersized for his position.

But what he did do was give the Jazz stability in several areas: attitude, reliability and effort.

His story should give hope to all the marginally talented hard workers out there. Collins filled a niche. The Jazz needed backup inside players, people who knew the system and could fill in at random spots in games, and who didn’t have an attitude problem. He took care of that.

He was the kind of player every team can use.

Contrary to popular opinion, NBA teams really can’t use 12 great players. Too much divisiveness, too many egos. Every team needs someone who knows his role. Collins did that wonderfully. He represented his school (Stanford) and the Jazz well, always polite and thoughtful. Though not a star player, he had some games they badly needed him. And he spelled them at times when the center position was in dire straits.

Though mostly viewed as a career reserve, he actually had 206 starts with the Jazz.

Collins is living proof you don’t have to be the most talented athlete on the floor to find a place in the most athletic league in the world. It’s a legacy of which he can be proud.