KSU’s Pullen, KU’s Collins will resume Chicago rivalry in TBT Sunflower Showdown
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jacob Pullen and Sherron Collins reignite KU-KSU rivalry in TBT showdown
- KSU and KU alumni teams advance after weekend wins, face off Monday at 8 p.m.
- Collins and Pullen emphasize mutual respect despite fierce historic rivalry
Former Kansas State men’s basketball guard Jacob Pullen, a graduate of Chicago’s Proviso East High School, swished a 3-pointer in front of the Kansas alumni team’s bench during the first half of KSU Purple Reign’s 78-72 TBT exhibition loss to the Jayhawks on Thursday at UMKC’s Swinney Center.
Pullen immediately locked eyes with his old high school and college nemesis, JHX Hoops coach Sherron Collins, the former Chicago Crane High and KU standout.
The two lifelong friends then exchanged a few words.
“I shot one (3) and somebody behind their bench said that it was off,” Pullen explained later. “When I shot it, I turned around to see who said it. I thought Sherron said it. It was someone in the first row (of the stands).
“The first thing Sherron said (back) to me was, ‘Why would I say that, Jake? I watched you make so many of them. So why would I say it?”’
Pullen was smiling as he shared that anecdote after scoring 12 points and dishing four assists in 39 minutes of playing time Saturday as Purple Reign — K-State’s TBT entry in the $1 million winner-take-all tourney — beat The Shine of Houston 85-84 at Municipal Auditorium.
Saturday’s first-round victory advanced the K-State alums into Monday’s round-of-32 contest against JHX, KU’s alumni squad, which defeated New York-based OffDaHook 91-78 in Saturday’s first round.
Those two wins set up a Sunflower Showdown and Chicago reunion: JHX plays Purple Reign Monday evening, with an 8 p.m. tipoff at Municipal Auditorium.
“Me and Sherron have been friends since high school,” Pullen said. “You always want to play against Kansas because of the competitive nature, but me and Sherron, even when we played in college and had great battles, we always talked over the summer.
“We always hung out, so that’s my guy from Chicago. We are great friends, but it’s always a competitive rivalry.”
For the record, the 38-year-old Collins went 7-1 versus K-State during his days at KU (2006-10). The 35-year-old Pullen, who arrived at KSU a year after Collins started at KU, went 3-5 against the Jayhawks.
Collins recalled former K-State one-and-done player Michael Beasley boastfully predicting a K-State win over KU at Bramlage Coliseum during his and Pullen’s freshman seasons.
“We’re gonna beat KU at home. We’re gonna beat ’em at their house. We’re gonna beat ’em in Africa. Wherever we play, we’re gonna beat ’em,” Beasley said at an alumni event in Topeka a few months before the start of the 2007-08 season.
Beasley went 1-1 against KU. He helped the Cats stop KU 84-75 on Jan. 30, 2008, ending a 24-year KSU home losing streak to the in-state rival. Beasley had 25 points and Pullen 20 that day, while Collins scored 12 for KU.
The Jayhawks on March 1, 2008 beat Beasley, Pullen and KSU in Lawrence, 88-74. Collins scored 18 points as a sophomore in that rematch, 13 in the second half. Beasley poured in 39, Pullen three.
“Pullen and those guys are going to be there. They’re going to do like they always do, but we’ll be fine,” Collins said.
He was speaking to The Star in advance of Thursday’s exhibition game vs. KSU but might as well have been talking about the Monday night showdown now looming at Municipal.
“I’m going to throw a little shade right here,” Collins continued. “When we beat somebody so much, when they lose to somebody so much, it’s probably the only time (for KSU) to get us back.”
Collins on Saturday afternoon addressed the upcoming contest, which will send one team home and the other to the Round of 16 in the single-elimination, winner-take all tourney.
“I think we’ve got the matchup everybody wanted to see,” Collins said of KU vs. K-State in the TBT. “So we’ll play K-State Monday and I think it’ll be a good show.
“The guys that played here, they actually understand it,” Collins noted of the rivalry. “So like Jamari (Traylor, five points, five rebounds in Saturday’s first-round win) and them, they’ll sell the other guys on what it means.
“But for us, every time we get them, we get a chance to play, and we want to beat them. So it doesn’t change. It’s always big between us and those guys. And it’s a love thing, too. We love those guys over there. They love us. But when it’s KU and K-State, it always comes up to be a dogfight, and it’ll be one.”
Three members of KU’s TBT team didn’t play at Kansas. The rest of the team, however, understands the rivalry well.
Collins is about to begin his fourth year as a high school coach (one year at Lawrence Free State and two at Oak Park High). Pullen next season will enter his 15th season of pro basketball.
“It’s fun to play with the guys again, especially a lot of young guys I never got to play with, the energy they bring,” Pullen said. “This gives an NCAA Tournament feel. This tournament is different. You never know who you are playing, how they are going to play. You’ve got to figure out a way to win games.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "KSU’s Pullen, KU’s Collins will resume Chicago rivalry in TBT Sunflower Showdown."
