The best boys' basketball player in Utah sometimes feels like an underdog.
Provo's Kyle Collinsworth was the most recruited player in the state this past summer, but it's not about him. It's about the team, and this season, he has felt at times that opponents have underestimated the Bulldogs.
"Last year, we had this huge win streak and we've had some early losses," Collinsworth. "Everyone though it was going to be a building year for us this season."
The Bulldogs don't have the same talent as they did last year. They don't have a college-bound post player like Brandon Davies. They don't have a winning streak that has spanned 40 games.
But if anybody can bring Provo back to the state championship game, it's Collinsworth.
He has played in a state title game every year since he was a freshman on the varsity team and he believes his senior year should be no different.
His coach expects nothing less.
"Kyle wants to win a championship," longtime Provo coach Craig Drury said. "He wants to be successful and that's only going to happen with everybody."
As a 6-foot-6, 220-pound point guard, Collinsworth brings a bruising physicality to the position. He is the team's leading rebounder, as well as the team's leading scorer with 21.1 points a game, which also makes him the top scorer in the state.
But he's not a ball hog. He dishes out an average of 7.8 assists a game and once posted 16 assists in a contest earlier this season. And, oh yeah, he also averages 3.6 steals a game. There's nothing he can't do.
But perhaps his biggest attribute is making his teammates better.
It can be intimidating to play with a Division I-bound player, but Collinsworth has never made his teammates feel like he was better than them.
"Some guys, they just try to score, and he's not like that," said senior Keith Moore. "He has the potential to make something happen on offense or defense, and he'll try to get us involved. He definitely raises everyone's level."
Collinsworth recognizes his teammate's strengths. Moore has the work ethic of a West Virginian coal miner. He's hard-nosed and goes after loose balls. Meanwhile, Ryan Durrant is the team's finesse player and turns the slightest looks at the basket into good shots.
"Moore and Durrant have filled the holes," Drury said. "I don't know how good we would be without Kyle, but we wouldn't be bad."
But the Bulldogs do have him, and as long as Collinsworth is leading the way, Provo has a shot at another championship.
"It's good for us to have some losses early," Collinsworth said. "But by the end of the year, everybody will know Provo's going to be in the hunt for a state title."
