highlight videos you shouldn't watch: an ongoing series

I made the trip to Phoenix over the weekend with 4-star commit Frankie Collins and the majority of Michigan targets participating in the inaugural Border League. This event brought together several powerhouse teams from the West Coast, along with IMG Academy (FL), which features 2022 Jett Howard and several offered prospects.  

The first in a three-part series divvied up by position group, today’s piece will examine the guards with new film, evaluation and the latest on Michigan’s involvement. 

Frankie Collins Is Legit

Competition Level: squared off versus 2021 Hercy Miller (Minnehaha Academy/Offers from USC, LSU, Missouri and others), 2021 top 40 Stanford commit Isael Silva (Prolific Prep) and 2022 5-star Jaden Bradley (IMG Academy)

Stock Status: Slightly Up

Updated Evaluation: This was my first time viewing Frankie live since last Summer, and he did not disappoint. The first thing that pops out for Collins is the leaping ability, as he’s absolutely an elite jumper when going off two legs. It’s no exaggeration to say that his vertical is 40+ inches. The hang time displayed on the possession starting at roughly the :17 mark just doesn’t seem physically possible for a high school senior. A 5’11 Frankie jumps over and through a 7-foot Chet Holmgren, with ridiculous body control and finished with the left hand. Collins’ head is approaching rim level on the possession starting at roughly the :46 mark, before he’s fouled and finishes through contact with the off-hand once again. I suggest you watch those possessions several times. It’s quite enjoyable knowing an athlete of that caliber will suit up for your favorite program. 

In terms of skill, playmaking for others is unquestionably his best facet. Frankie is outstanding at collapsing the defense with dribble penetration, forcing helpside defense and finding bigs at the rim for easy points. Whether its ballscreen action, isolation or transition, Collins fits precision dimes in tight windows consistently. 

As a half-court scorer, Frankie is at his best attacking the rim. He consistently gets in the paint based on his ability to change direction with a live dribble, tremendous strength for a guard and his spatial awareness in small spaces. As a finisher, Collins is able to fully utilize the explosive vertical when he can get a running start in a straight line (more likely to happen against drop coverage defense). When that happens, there is a good chance he’s going to finish or draw a foul because he seeks out contact consistently. If forced to change direction in the paint, he doesn’t get the same level of lift and shotblockers have a much better chance of altering his shot.

The question everyone has is the jumper. Frankie isn’t a volume jumpshooter, but he’s not a total liability in that regard either. Mechanically, I confirm there is some extra motion on the mechanics, but not of the extreme variety in any sense. The jumpshots I viewed were quality for the most part, even if they didn’t necessarily find the bottom of the net. Collins has the potential to be a solid jumpshooter if he can tighten up his mechanics just a bit and add a few inches of arch. 

Frankie is absolutely electric in transition as both a scorer in facilitator. When he gets a head full of steam in the open court, he can simply outjump the opposition to finish or use his vision to hit teammates in stride for layups/dunks. I anticipate him being extremely effective for the Wolverines in transition opportunities. 

The other end of the court is where I was pleasantly surprised. The highlight-reel blocks in the open court are amazing, but more importantly Frankie is an above average/good defender in typical half-court sets. Collins has very active hands and his anticipation is impressive. He jumps passing lanes for steals/deflections and moves well enough laterally to keep ballhandlers in front of him while using his superior strength to bump them off their spots. The one knock I had in my notes is that Frankie tends to go under ballscreens and concedes open jumpers. That certainly won’t be the plan in Ann Arbor. 

Recruitment: Committed to Michigan. Hello Post. 

[After THE JUMP: Jaden Hardy and Jaden Bradley]

Ah. So. Here we are.

None of us (stares in Brian's direction) really wanted next year to be here so fast, but we're suddenly in the offseason, so it's time to take a broad view of Michigan's roster.

The Scholarship Chart

As things currently stand, Michigan is one spot over the 13 scholarship limit for 2020-21, though that spot could easily be opened up by Jace Howard starting his career as a preferred walk-on.

We know for sure that Austin Davis will be back after Juwan Howard made it public he wanted the backup center on the team for his fifth year. Davis didn't go through Senior Day ceremonies. He's not going anywhere and is slated to at least reprise his role as a valuable player off the bench at the position with the most uncertainty heading into next season.

The roster isn't set, of course. It'd be an unusual offseason indeed without any attrition, particularly with so many players on the roster who committed to a head coach who's no longer here. In fact, with assistant Saddi Washington emerging as a leading candidate to replace fired Western Michigan head coach Steve Hawkins, there may soon be no more holdovers on the coaching staff from John Beilein's tenure.

You may also have heard that Howard is still recruiting a couple high-profile 2020 prospects. Let's take a look at where Michigan stands with some five-star talent.

[Hit THE JUMP]

Time To Not Watch This Highlight Video Again

After previously being eliminated in a move that came as a surprise, Michigan is back in the mix for four-star NC DT Alim McNeill. McNeill had planned to announce his decision on September 9th, almost certainly for stated leader NC State, but with some nudging from the Wolverines he's put that decision off until he can take some official visits, per Scout's Michael Clark:

“I’m going to take some official visits before I decide,” said the 6-foot-2, 272-pound McNeill. “I’m definitely taking officials to Michigan, N.C. State and Virginia Tech.”

Michigan is making a late push for McNeill.

“They’re just Michigan,” McNeill said. “Coach (Jim) Harbaugh and the coaching staff stand out. I also like the tradition and they’ve always been a top football program.

“I had a talk with (defensive coordinator) coach (Don) Brown. Coach Brown really sold me on their defensive tradition.

“He talked about how they feel they could develop me as a player and how they could use me in the defense. He said they like my versatility. I’m ready to go up there and see what they have to offer.”

McNeill maintains NC State leads the pack, while Virginia Tech is also in his top group and Florida State is lurking. That said, it's always good to be the school the causes a prospect to rethink his timeline. This one should get interesting if/when McNeill makes it to campus. Getting back into contention with him is big for Michigan, which is in contention but not the outright leader for their top defensive tackle targets in the 2018 class—adding McNeill back into a target group including Tyler Friday, Michael Thompson, and Rick Sandidge makes it that much more likely they'll land at least one coveted DT.

I continue to recommend against watching his sophomore highlight video.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]