We've yet to see John Wall play a single collegiate basketball game, and already the consensus is that he'll be one of the best players in the country. Given his high school highlights and off-the-charts athleticism, this prediction is about as safe as it gets. John Wall is going to be good. There's no getting arohnd it.

Except Kansas point guard Sherron Collins -- probably the title-holder for best point guard in the country, at least until Wall makes a run at the title -- isn't a fan of all the hype. He thinks Wall needs to pay some dues first.

“It bothers me a little bit,” Collins said when I asked about all the attention Wall is getting. “I think I’ve established myself, and he’s coming out of high school with a lot of hype. But I’m the old guy, and I ain’t gonna let no young boy get the best of me.”

I love the inflection here, as if Collins is some 35-year-old NBA veteran with an ABA game who plans on out-crafting his younger, more athletic opponents. Sherron Collins is 22 years old. He's barely old enough to drink legally. Maybe within the confines of college basketball he's a wily old vet, but in the big picture he's only slightly less young than is John Wall.

Anyway, that quote comes from Gary Parrish, who ranked Wall ahead of Collins on his point guards list and then had the onions to go ask Collins about it. Kudos, Gary. It's probably a good thing Brady Morningstar wasn't around, though. Fights in Lawrence have broken out over far less.

Related: Big 12 Basketball, College Basketball Media