Daimion Collins shows off NBA potential in big win over Robert Morris
Up until Friday night, you’d have a tough time convincing anyone who’s watched Kentucky play this season that Daimion Collins is expected to be an NBA lottery pick. But after watching him pop off the Kentucky bench for 14 points on 7-8 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, four blocks, and one steal in 21 minutes, those tunes have likely changed.
Especially when he’s pulling off fastbreak dunks such as this one, which would make Willie Cauley-Stein blush.
“I’m just running the floor,” Collins said of his highlight dunk in transition. “My teammate seen me, (I) caught it, and just went up. It was just me and the rim.”
Kentucky made easy work of Robert Morris on Friday night in Rupp Arena, cruising to a 100-60 win. The victory came off a loss to the Duke Blue Devils earlier this week, where Collins only saw the floor for a total of two minutes.
The 6-foot-9 freshman finished both of UK’s exhibition games with a combined six points and five rebounds in 33 minutes. He looked about as raw on the offensive end as many Kentucky fans were expecting. Against Duke, he was quickly played off the floor as he couldn’t keep up with the level of physicality. Collins’ body and frame are clearly still a work in progress.
But then he goes out and does things that maybe 1 percent of people in the entire world can do. Collins uses his 7-foot-5 wingspan to his advantage even when he might not know he’s doing so. His length alters shots at the rim and even out to the three-point arc. He skies for rebounds and can snag the ball at its apex while others are still half a foot away. Once he gets his paws on the ball off of a lob, go ahead and put two points on the scoreboard.
Five of Collins’ seven made buckets against Robert Morris came through dunks. The other two were layups. His only miss on the night was an open three-pointer, which might actually be the most enticing aspect of his game right now–if he can hit that consistently, watch out…
Collins is still a long way from reaching his full potential, and he’ll be long gone from Kentucky by the time he does. But that being said, the best way to develop him is by playing live games.
“He needs to play,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said about Collins after the game. “I questioned whether I should have played him more in the Duke game… We need him in the game. Even if it’s 20 minutes, he needs to play.”
Collins saw the court for 21 minutes on Friday night, starting off slow but finishing strong. The last seven minutes of the night were basically a Daimion Collins Athleticism Showcase. It was everything NBA scouts have been drooling over since he was a senior in high school.
But Collins is still a blank slate and Calipari is still in the process of molding him into a future first-round draft pick. The scent of something special is there, we just haven’t gotten a full whiff quite yet.
“He’s in the making but we just got to play him,” Calipari reiterated.
If Collins continues to play as he did on Friday night, he’ll get made into a one-and-done prospect in no time.
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