For those that missed the full offensive analysis last week, that can be found here. 

I made several trips to the Phoenix area over the last month to get a detailed look at 2021 signee Frankie Collins. Suiting up for Air Nado (club name for Coronado HS in Las Vegas) at the Border League and a one-off versus Sierra Canyon (CA). This was a great opportunity to see how Collins stacked up versus some of the best high school competition in the country.

At the Border League event in late October, Air Nado squared off against Minnehaha Academy (MN) and Prolific Prep (NV). Minnehaha debuted at number 17 in the national pre-season rankings and featured 5-star Chet Holmgren, 4-star Prince Aligbe Word and 3-star Hercy Miller. Prolific is the 5th ranked team in the nation with 2021 Oregon commit Nate Bittle, 2021 Stanford commit Isael Silva, 4-star Kamari Lands, 4-star Mouhamed Gueye and 3-star Jordan Pope. 

The early November matchup against number 20 Sierra Canyon was an absolute thriller. SC came in as one of the most talented teams in the nation with 5-star Amari Bailey, 4-star Chance Westry, 4-star Bronny James, 3-star Shy Odom and 3-star Max Allen.

On-Ball Defense

I like to initially examine physical facets when projecting on-ball defense and Frankie grades out well in that regard. Collins has above average lateral agility and changes directions without losing much speed. Perhaps even more impressive though is the sheer strength that he possesses. He absorbs contact, knocks ballhandlers off their spots and maintains balance to the extent he doesn't get beat to the rim. The only potential concern physically, and a very small one at that, is the top-end straight line speed. Frankie isn't slow by any means, but he's not a burner either. He can be beat when applying full court pressure, but I don't expect that to be a big part of Juwan Howard's defensive approach given what we've seen so far. 

In terms of technique, it all starts with active hands. Collins attacks like a pit bull once the ballhandler picks up the dribble or gathers to go up for a layup. His low center of gravity means that he's in an advantageous position to swipe the ball and he takes full advantage of it by consistently reaching and putting the ballhandler in positions to turn the ball over. Frankie also shows great court awareness, using the sideline as an extra defender and shades ballhandlers accordingly to eliminate one side of the court. 

Frankie has a lot of traits that mirror a good running back. He changes direction quite well, has a low center of gravity and possesses good core strength/balance. I fully expect him to be a solid on-ball defender in the B10. He moves well enough that opposing PGs won't be able to blow by him, his hand activity is going to be disruptive and he's an engaged defender that takes takes pride on that end of the court. Like all sub-6' guards, he's going to get bullied to the rim occasionally and taller guards will simply be able to elevate over him for pull-ups. But on a possessional basis, he projects to be an above-average/good defender at the point of attack on most nights. 

[Hit THE JUMP for the full breakdown.]

Off-Ball Defense

You don't typically associate point guards as having any sort of impact as an off-ball defender, but Collins does have some punch in that regard. He has excellent anticipation and acceleration/change of direction that allows him to jump passing lanes for steals/deflections. His vertical leaping ability means that Frankie will occasionally get a chase-down block in transition that will bring the crowd to its feet as well. 

The lack of size/length is the only negative here. Collins' simply isn't going to deter shooters on close-outs. This probably isn't going to be a huge issue since he's going to spend the vast majority of possessions defending opposing point guards at the point of attack, but it will manifest at times in scramble situations or cross-matches in transition. 

Screen Defense

This is the area of Frankie's defensive approach where the staff will be required to coach him up. Collins goes under ballscreens on nearly every possession in PnR sets. He concedes pull-up triples and that simply won't cut it at Michigan. It defeats the purpose of utilizing drop coverage by our bigs, as two of our defenders would functionally tag the roll-man as the ballhandling guard is left wide open to shoot or survey the floor.

He also takes this approach when chasing shooters on screens. Again, this won't get the job done, particularly given his lack of size/length. Collins will need to stay attached when chasing because he certainly isn't going to adequately contest jumpers based on the physical limitations referenced above.

There is a lot to like about Frankie as a ball-hawking defender that harasses opposing PGs, but the staff will undoubtedly refine his approach to screen coverage.