Nick Collison was a first-team all-American as a senior at Kansas last season. He was named the Big 12 Conference player of the year, was selected the national player of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and helped lead the Jayhawks to the N.C.A.A. championship game. But this is what it is like when you play four years of college basketball in preparation for the N.B.A.

"It's easy for a four-year player in college to get picked apart," Jeff Nix, the Knicks' assistant general manager, said today after watching Collison work out for an hour. "It's the easy thing to do with so many young kids leaving high school, leaving college, unknown players coming from Europe. A player like Nick can be an easy target for negative things."

Negative things? After all he achieved in college basketball?

"That's kind of human nature," Collison said. "You see a guy for four years. You're used to him, and you move on to somebody else or start picking things apart - you know, what he can't do instead of looking at what he can do. I've seen that a little bit.

"As long as I get a shot to play somewhere I'll be happy. It's been a dream to play in the N.B.A. Even if it's a few spots lower than it would have been without all these other guys, it's fine with me. I'll make the best of it."