Pictured: Rudy Collins (Right) with NBA Rookie Tyreke Evans "Tough year couldn't wipe smile off Collins' face"
Written BY:Zachary Braziller
Rudolph Collins has a smile that can light up a room. It is broad, toothy and constant. He greets friends, teammates, opponent and reporters – basically everyone – with a warm grin.
“That’s how I am,” the Forest Hills rising sophomore said. “I’m a happy person.”
Even when life isn’t much fun.
Few would’ve spent much time smiling last year, particularly a 15-year-old freshman.
Collins’s mother, Cherry Langley, had two strokes three weeks part, a scary time in his life. She has since recovered. His older brother, Wayne Taylor, a former star at Flushing, was in jail; he was recently released. His aunt, Bernice Clark, was intermittently at their house in Corona because she was logging extra hours at work to support the family. His father is out of the picture.
Collins had to care for his younger brother, Dennis Coleman, 11, and younger sister, Kaylay Langley, 3, missing school and practices from time to time.
“He’s a kid that went through a lot,” said Nate Blue, Collins’ basketball mentor and advisor.
The 6-foot-4 wing took care of his siblings, cooking such meals as chicken and rice and ox tails for them, watching them and serving as the adult until Clark came home.
“It was rough,” he said. “It forced me to step up.”
It made for a constant struggle. Pegged as one of the top freshman in the PSAL, Collins rarely played with the Rangers before he was deemed academically ineligible after failing two classes in January, at the same time as his mother’s unfortunate health woes.
It was then, when he had to trade in his jersey and shorts for street clothes, that his maturation shined through. He kept smiling. He attended every game and as many practices as possible, given his living situation. He never once mentioned the hardships to teammates or coaches.
The way Collins, now 16, sees it, the ordeal wasn’t anybody’s business. He has talked to teammate Maurice Harkless about the situation this summer and Forest Hills coach Ben Chobhaphand and Blue, who is a voluntary assistant at Forest Hills, were aware of the situation.
Collins refused to blame his poor academic standing purely on his responsibilities. In fact, it taught him a valuable life lesson.
“It made me prepared if anything else goes wrong,” he said.
He spent the summer making sure it wouldn’t happen again, taking summer classes at Forest Hills. As a result, he didn’t play much AAU basketball, working out with Blue and teammates Shawn Branch and Harkless instead. When they were away, he was a fixture at the city’s streetball leagues, particularly Nike Pro City and West 4th Street, looking to pick up nuances from the established stars.
Chobhaphand isn’t sure if Collins will make his starting five, but he certainly sees him as an integral part of the rotation. He likes his versatility, the ability to defend guards and forwards, score in the paint and from the perimeter, plus handle the ball.
“I expect a lot from him,” Chobhaphand said.
Collins hasn’t lost his smile. He is particularly excited to be a kid again, to help Forest Hills on the basketball court and himself in the classroom.
“It’s my chance,” he said, flashing that grin. “It’s gonna be a big season for me. I’m ready. I definitely have a lot to prove.”
Story Link
http://www.fiveborosports.com/ssp/news?news_id=3807
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