jaden hardy
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]
Michigan currently holds a top 5 recruiting class for 2021 after 4-star guard Frankie Collins announced for Michigan a few weeks back. While 5-star recruitments haven’t been kind over the last six months, we’re heading down that road again.
Two Team Race?
I made the trip to Dallas over the weekend to get my first live viewing of top 20 forward Harrison Ingram this year at the War B4 The Storm.
Offensively, Ingram displayed legitimate point guard skills as demonstrated in my film above. He was absolutely superb in terms of spatial awareness and vision in ballscreen action. Harrison consistently collapsed the defense off the bounce and made plays for teammates. To be candid, the highlights above don’t do his facilitation ability justice. Ingram had several more eye-popping passes that didn’t make the clip because teammates couldn’t finish the play off.
In terms of scoring, that was a much different story. Harrison scored 9 points in total through two games (no typo). While part of this is due to his optimal role being a shot creator for others, there were consistent issues finishing at the rim because he simply lacks the verticality to do so.
In talking to his coaches, Ingram hasn’t done much over the last two months and did sit out Southern Assault’s final game on Sunday. So perhaps conditioning or very minor injury played a role here. In reviewing film though in tandem with live viewings of last Summer, I’m comfortable saying his limited athleticism plays at least a minimal role.
On the recruiting trail, Michigan is in the final 6 along with Stanford, Purdue, Howard, North Carolina and Harvard. My newest intel over the weekend suggests this is more of a top two plus one.
A source close to the recruitment tells me that Michigan is one of two teams at the top along with Purdue. The parents (Mom) really like the Stanford option, but the on-court situation in Palo Alto isn’t appealing enough to Harrison at this time. North Carolina is stronger than accepted wisdom, but trailing the Wolverines and Boilermakers.
Juwan Howard and staff have done a phenomenal job of making Ingram a top priority to the extent of perhaps being in pole position. The holdup? The same source tells me Harrison may have questions about his role in the offense come 2022 when Jett Howard comes aboard if he’s not a one and done.
Never could I have imagined that Jett Howard, a top 50 prospect that is likely best suited playing off-ball, would potentially be a roadblock for a 2021 5-star that is an elite shot creator. Such is life in recruiting.
Bringing this all together, a reliable source indicated last week that Michigan was likely sitting at the very top of the list. A different source close to the situation this weekend conveyed the Wolverines in a top 2 along with Purdue. A third source believes Ingram will ultimately pick the program that sells him on having the ball in his hands.
Reading the tea leaves here, Michigan is consistently mentioned among the top two schools in connection with Harrison. Matt Painter is absolutely selling Ingram as a true PG and that is attractive from his perspective. The Wolverine staff has done a phenomenal job after playing catch-up. But as I always say, recruiting has little to do with objective on-court factors and everything to do with the ability to sell a kid his dream. Michigan has a real chance to close the deal with an instant impact 5star with relatively low NBA upside, let’s hope Juwan Howard can get it done.
[After THE JUMP: not looking good elsewhere on the 5-star front and a 2022 target impresses]
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