Frankie Collins in the transfer portal via his IG
This shocked me! Had no idea this was remotely in his plans. A real bummer after he flashed such promise in the NCAA tournament.
I'll leave the hot takes to the rest of you, just sharing this news since he posted on IG 2 minutes ago.
https://twitter.com/Frankiecollins0/status/1520510719598366721/photo/1
Bro, what....
This seems really odd to me. Collins was almost certainly going to start next season and gobble up minutes.
Now we’re almost certainly relying on a freshman to handle the starting PG minutes, assuming we’re looking for a true PG to fill the position.
Really fucking strange.
That sucks! I really don't understand it. Who will be our starting PG next year?
Fuck, and TWill is upset too? WTF man?
This is only shocking because of who it is but not shocking that it's guard and if we continue to go after transfer portal guards, the hs guards we recruit are start saying no or just look for other opportunities. It seems we are recruiting the portal before we recruit our own guys.
The flip side of this is just that names have to be in by May 1st to be eligible to play next season without sitting so he could return but maybe he just wants to make sure he is still wanted. Can't take roster for granted anymore in this new climate.
If Frankie really left because of a catch and shoot 2 guard transfer from the Ivy League, that's on him, not Howard. The portal is too big a part of the sport to ignore it for guys who are scared of competition. I'm guessing that's not the main reason he's leaving.
Yes and no thats on Frankie and not Howard. The question you have to ask is why is Howard going after guards from Ivy League (Smith and Llewellyn) and Sun Belt (Jones) when he is recruiting 4* guards and then not trusting them to play? Because that is what a Frankie and Zeb most likely feel. They look at it like this: I could have went to a smaller conference and balled out because they would have gotten to PLAY. Should he stay and compete? Yes but again in this climate, why continue to look for 1 year rentals recruiting over your 4 year players. Nobody will stick around for that. Players want to PLAY.
But Llewellyn is a 2 and Frankie is a 1. Smith and Jones were in the past and really say nothing about the coaching staff's confidence in Collins to come in and run the offense as a true soph.
Wait you want your entire line up of guards to be Frankie Dug and Bufkin?
You have to be god damn out of your mind. Honestly if I was Juwan id keep upgrading. Fuck it.
April 30th, 2022 at 10:43 PM ^
Keep? You mean start. Where's the first pg upgrade?
It’s surprising because you normally don’t see a guy who’s set to be the starter transfer. This guy coming is not a point guard, especially since we desperately needed a 2. Can’t imagine he’s going to go somewhere as good as Michigan and start right away
He may not have played point at Princeton but if he is trying to show he can play point in a major conference for a chance at the NBA? This could be why chose to come to Michigan.
"Coulds" and "ifs" got penciled starters transferring? If homeboy was a 2 at GD Princeton how is he going to steal Frankies starting position? Im confused just keep on keeping on at the 2 young fella.
I'm pretty shocked by this. Our guard recruiting (and seemingly maintaining/developing) is pretty bad. What is up with Howard being so bad at developing guards or keeping them long enough to develop?
I really hope this isn't some weird Emoni is coming here to be a PG thing, because that would truly piss me off. I rather it be some NIL thing.
So now we're back to having 3 guards, 1 mini PG, and 2 2-guards and praying Jett can play the 2 even though he's a 3.
Recruit more guards and guards that can shoot please. Stop recruiting so many 4s or 3/4 tweeners.
lol he's bad at developing guards? Simpson had his best year and led the Big Ten and was 2nd in the country in assists under Howard. And he clearly got the most out of both Smith and Jones, two up transfers who turned into legitimate positive Big Ten players.
Also you want more guards who can shoot but are pissed that a guy who could barely hit rim from the FT line is leaving. Strange take.
Simpson was mostly a Beilein guy. Smith and Jones were here for a year and didn't get better, they just got used to the offense and their role. They didn't do anything new compared to before they got here, their role simply changed.
There are clearly issues recruiting guards and keeping them. Our last 2 PGs were, as you said, transfers. You shouldn't rely on transfers every year to fill your starting PG spot.
We need guards and bodies regardless. I was saying recruit more guards *and* ones who can shoot while you're at it. Right now we have 3 guards on the roster, that's an issue. We need more bodies there, but that's been an area we've struggled out and have patched up with transfers and having Eli.
Simpson was a Beilein guy who peaked under Juwan. Smith and Jones definitely got better, they were at mid-major conferences and turned into good Big Ten players. That doesn't happen for a lot of transfers so Juwan deserves credit there.
Who knows the circumstances behind Frankie leaving. If he's really leaving because we picked up an Ivy League transfer who's more an off ball guard anyways then that's a shitty move by Frankie. If he's got other reasons then so be it. I don't see how it's on Juwan though and he's done a pretty good job recruiting highly touted guards so far.
He was a senior who got better every year, won a tournament title, went to a national title game, won a ton of games, he did the vast majority of that before Howard and I don't think would have done any different if Beilein was there. Smith and Jones played better once getting into their roles but they weren't better players. They were seniors and they don't improve that much, not like a freshman to sophomore leap. One was the best scorer in the Ivy and he was an efficient scorer here having to do way less, the other was a conference player of the year who was the main scorer and that's what he did here. They were pretty much the same players as they were the year before skillset wise.
I'll give Howard credit for finding the right transfers for the roles they needed which is crazy hard I admit, but it's not like they have a lot different skill set or talent from their previous year. It doesn't change the fact that the guards he's recruited since he got here have either left or not done anything yet. I think Kobe will be really good, but right now we've needed a transfer PG 2 years in a row, now maybe a 3rd. This years roster will have another transfer guard, a sophomore Kobe and a tiny freshman point guard. That's not great, and it's been an issue. The roster construction has been an issue with a ton of 4s or 3s who are kind of a 4 (Houstan) and not enough ball handlers and guards. He's recruited 4 guards so far, Collins, Jackson, Bufkin and McDaniel. 2 of those 4 have left.
I just think it's weird that it's been hard to get guards and keep them.
I’m very leery of McDaniel’s ability to play at a high level, at least without years of experience. I’ve read scouts compare his game with Tony Parker’s, but Parker was 6’2”. Even Mike Smith listed at 5’11” and 185. McDaniels lists at the same height (but looks even shorter) and almost 20 pounds lighter. He’ll bulk up, of course, but I don’t know how a game centered around driving and dishing is going to translate for a dude that size. Smith had much more experience when he came in, and it still took a bit before he ended up pretty dang good.
I wouldn’t worry too much about McDaniel’s size. He will need to put on a little weight, but he was offered by UConn, LSU, Florida, and Georgetown. I don’t think we have to worry about someone with those offers being able to lead an offense at this level
He was/is going to be so good
Big hit! Frankie is one of the few on the roster that can slash to score/dish. Llewelyn looks like a small 2 guard. 5’8” Dug is the only PG on roster. Hope Kobe makes a big leap.
I don’t know what’s going on here. Why can’t we keep a starting point guard for more than one season? If the football team can keep two starting level quarterbacks on board with our current NIL situation, then basketball should be able to hold on to a sophomore starter and an Ivy League SG transfer.
WTF is Howard doing over their at Crisler? I hope a plan is in-place for f**k sake.
Negged because of bad typo
*Typos*
I counted three.
This is the ugliness of the portal.
First sign of adversity and C ya later…
He has terrible handles. His body moved way faster then the ball could keep up. He is never going to fix that. Very explosive straight line athlete. Not fluid and stiff. This isn’t really a loss in my eyes.
I downvoted you the second I saw “he has terrible handles”
Without knowing all of the context or reasoning behind this choice by Frankie. Let's think about this for a minute. His post says, "explore my options." He's sitting around watching marginal players get paid pretty good money. If I was in his shoes, I would explore my options too. Maybe it turns out the best option was Michigan, and he chooses not to transfer.
I'd have to guess there is no chance of that happening, but all of the people here who like to throw around the "Michigan Money Cannon" should have enough money to sign a few NIL deals.
Michigan will have a massive hole at point guard if he leaves. I join others in not understanding this given his odds-on starting role.
Here’s my reactionary, hot take I hate that he’s leaving, but speaking as a scorned fan, I’d rather have a point guard that can shoot a free throw.
Get me a guy who can get others easy buckets…Frankie can do that.
I would love to see what a senior Frankie Collins looked like with the Hunter Dickinson led team next year, but unfortunately he's not a senior -- he's young and developing. The timelines just don't match up. For next year, when we know we'll have a chance to compete with Dickinson down low, I think we can find a better PG. Unfortunately, the cost of that is seeing what Frankie could've done down the road. I'm sure Juwan will continue to make good use of all available scholarships though, so we should be just fine.
Well that ain't no good.
Why does everyone keep saying that Llewellyn is a 2 guard? 24/7 Sports scouting says that he was the "primary on-ball guard" for Princeton. That means he was/is a Point Guard.
Since Collins position is also pg, it's certainly understandable why he wouldn't want to spend another year primarily sitting on the bench of a coach who has proven that he doesn't manage minutes or rotations with much competency.
I anticipate Bufkin has a bag packed, as well. Coach Howard has been actively recruiting his position in the portal, too.
I've watched a good amount of Llewellyn's highlights. From everything that I've seen and read, he was Princeton's best guard by far, but he is much more a two than a one.
He may have been a primary ball handler, but from what I've read, he didn't do a lot of pick and roll/ball screen stuff. He was just their best player/guard so he had the ball in his hands a lot. I could easily be wrong though.
Uhh, that is exactly what Llewellyn would be here... the best guard. Therefore, he'd be the primary ball handler... point guard, which is Collins ONLY position.
Being the primary ball handler doesn't mean he's a PG. Jaden Ivey was the primary ball handler, but he wasn't the PG for Purdue. This guard from Princeton apparently didn't run very many ball screens and PnRs. He shot the ball mostly and created for himself. He didn't average very many assist and his assist % was pretty low especially for someone with decently high usage. That's not really point guard like.
It's entirely possible they want him to be the PG here, I'm not sure what the plans are, but he seems like he would be better as 2 than a 1.
You got 80 minutes.
Lets say for the sake of argument the transfer is the best of them- cool he gets 30
50 minutes left
Im pretty sure that the rest go to Bufkin and Frankie.
That is 25 each
Come on man a guy that played SG does not help your team if you sit your second best returner.
This is just dumb to think of in April with a roster of 3 guards. Juwan wasnt going to sit Frankie for 30 minutes and you know better.
LOL yeah, I'm sure Collins trusts that Coach Howard to not play his starting pg 35 minutes regardless of effectiveness. Collins started and won 2 NCAA tournament games as the point guard, and the coach brings in a starting transfer point guard. That alone told him that he would be sitting 30 minutes a game.
Either he or whomever is giving him advice are clueless if they think he and Llewelyn play the same position. He’s throwing away 30 starter minutes at one of the best program in the country.
Neg all you want, that’s foolishness.
Neg? We dont neg for common sense. Perfectly said and name checks out!