Collins was a well-decorated basketball player at Kansas. He was unanimously selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team for the 2006–07 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. After leading the 2008–09 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team to the Big 12 Conference regular season title, Collins was named to the 2009 first team All-Big 12 team. That season, he was named a consensus second team 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American. He was also a consensus first team 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American as a senior and earned the Most Outstanding Player award while leading his team to the 2010 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament championship. He was included on many of the watchlists for the most prestigious college basketball awards as both a junior and senior. Collins holds the school record for most consecutive free throws.