Under the Radar: John Collins

John Collins was the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Collins was a promising young talent drafted out of Wake Forest where he played 2 seasons 13 points a game while snagging 7 boards per game. Collins also shot a ridiculous 60% from the field in his college stint.

Collins showed a lot of promise in his rookie year and I predicted he would have a breakout season simply based on his skill set.

His first year in the league he averaged:

10.5 ppg – 7.3 rpg – 57% fg – 34% 3p 

In his Breakout season Collins is averaging:

19.5 ppg – 9.5 rpg – 56% fg – 37% 3p 

The young Power Forward is listed as 6’10 but he is still a mobile artillery because he can do literally anything.  Collins can spread the floor with his shooting, he can be a pick and roll threat, catch any lob thrown to him, run the floor and attack the rim. Defensively he is a great player as he uses his sheer strength and athleticism to contain his opponents.  He is so good at running the break without the ball and sneaking behind his defender on cuts to get wide open dunks. Being athletically gifted gives him the advantage against most forwards in the league so he does not struggle much on the scoring end. With great footwork in the post and a soft touch around the rim, you have a complete player who can do it all and he is only 21 years of age.

There is a bright future in Atlanta with the rising Young & Collins duo and the emergence of such a unique forward. I have a Ceiling of a now Blake Griffin and a floor of a Clippers Blake Griffin simply because of his durability he is able to maintain his body ready. He is one of the top dunkers in the league and is usually the one in mid-air ready to catch a lob or ready to throw down a thunderous dunk.  Giving LLoyd Piercesystem s and the front office the ability to be flexible during the draft and free agent process. Collins can fit in any system or offense because of the fact that he is so versatile and can do so many things.

Below I have attached his two best games of the season:

Game 1 Vs Nuggets: 30 points – 12 rebounds – 5 assists

Game 2 Vs Bulls: 35 points – 8 rebounds – 14- 16 fg