"They surprised me a lot, especially when they were 18-30," Collins said last night before the Detroit Pistons eliminated the Sixers in Game 6 at the Wachovia Center, where he was working as an analyst for TNT.

"I didn't know if they could shoot well enough to be able to win," he said. "They lost their best shooter, Kyle Korver, and they still went on that run."

Korver was traded to Utah on Dec. 29, when the Sixers were 13-16. After the trade, they were 27-26.

Collins has great admiration for Maurice Cheeks. After Cheeks was hired to coach the Sixers on May 23, 2005, one of the first things he did was ask Collins to become an assistant.

Collins remained in television, where he is considered among the best analysts in the game.

"Credit goes to Maurice, and this team plays incredibly hard every game, which Maurice did most of his career," Collins said. "They are an incredibly high-energy team and have a lot of young guys."

Collins said the Sixers' development would depend on how they improved their perimeter shooting.

As of now, "if you can prevent them from running and getting out, then you have a good chance of defending them in the half-court," he said.

Collins believes that this is a season the Sixers can build on.

"My hat is off to Maurice and what the team has done this year," he said. "I don't think too many people thought they'd be in the playoffs."

Two votes for Young

A panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada voted.

"I thank those guys who gave me votes," Young said. "Kevin has had a great year and his averages were off the charts for a rookie, and I congratulate him for winning rookie of the year."

Young may have received a few more third-place votes had he gotten more playing time early in the season. In eight of the first 18 games, the coach did not play him.

"Sometimes I think of that, but I'm not really worried about it," Young said. "My main thing has been to win games."

The Sixers were 13-9 in games Young started. For the season, he averaged 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Hearing the crowd

"There were more than 18,000 here, and you had no choice but to hear it," Evans said. "It makes you feel good."

He admitted to being motivated by the crowd.

"The fans appreciate hard work and make you want to work harder," he said. "A lot of times, it's the team and organization who appreciate you, and when you get it from the fans, it makes you appreciate it."

Evans finished last night's loss with three points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in nearly 25 minutes. He was one of the few Sixers who played with energy and passion throughout the game.

-Marc Narducci