Darren Collison played in three Final Fours and has been on the NBA radar for several years, but the book on him is still frequently incorrect.

Unquestionably, Collison?s greatest strength is on the defensive end where he will pressure the ball with suffocating intensity.

Collison, however, is underrated offensively on multiple levels, most notably as a perimeter shooter.  He attempted over 100 3-point shots in each of the past three seasons while posting percentages of 44.7% as a sophomore, 52.5% as a junior and 39.4% as a senior.  

He has a high release on his jumper, with good lift and repeatable mechanics.  Collison shoots it really well off the dribble, both in the mid-range and from distance.  He has a nice step back jumper and is efficient at hitting runners.

Collison has excellent balance and control with his handle, regardless if he is going at full speed, hesitating or slowing it down while protecting the ball with his body.  He is extremely inventive with his dribble and is capable of beating just about any defender off of his dribble due to his explosive speed.

Even though he doesn?t finish at the rim in the halfcourt, his excellent athleticism and agility in the air allows him to score in traffic.  He is an acrobatic scorer with great improvisational skills.

Collison drives to the bucket in a way that collapses the defense, bringing sagging defenders towards him.  This might be where he is most effective as a passer, finding spot-up shooters on the kick out.  His abilities as a passer are fairly average for a point guard.  He could stand to be more crisp in his delivery and have a sharper sense of the floor.

Running an offense, Collison does not dominate the ball whatsoever.  He is a quiet leader that looks to complement his teammates and is not preoccupied with his own number.  

Defensively, Collison is truly special and his value as a shutdown on-ball guy will be enormous in this great age of point guards like Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo.  

Collison has remarkable lateral quickness (quickness all around with a track pedigree from both parents) and he will stay in front of ballhandlers as well as any perimeter defender in the NBA.  He also has good core strength and won?t be a defender that the big bodied points like Deron Williams.  Collison has long arms and plays the passing lanes very well, which creates an occasional fastbreak layup.

In terms of a four-year guy, Collison is as good as it gets in this era.  He has been through every imaginable situation while at UCLA and there are no chinks in his armor.  He has developed and improved while playing in a top conference at more than 30 minutes per night.  

Collison has enough skill on both sides of the floor to be a starting point guard, either on a bad team or more preferably next to an elite shooting guard, or be a super-sub who can change the tempo of the game.