KSR Film Room: Daimion Collins

(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Typically when evaluating prospects the best way to go about it is by watching full game tape from their high school season. Getting caught up in watching too much AAU or highlight film can be a slippery slope to not getting an accurate look at a player. However, when evaluating Daimion Collins, you almost just have to suspended belief a little bit and let the mixtapes roll.

Attending Atlanta High School, a small public school down in Texas, Collins didn’t play with or against the caliber of players a lot Kentucky recruits see at the prep level. You can still notice some traits on film when watching his high school games, but without sharing the floor with other college players his dominance can be deceiving.

What Collins brings to the table more than anything else is raw physical traits and intrigue. When watching him on film you will see him bring the ball up the court and hit a stepback three-pointer, intercept an opponent’s shot attempt right out of the air, and then put his head above the rim to finish an alley-oop. He truly is a freak in the very best sense of the word.

So, what will translate to the Rupp Arena floor and what won’t? The exciting thing is that the traits exist regardless of whether he is playing in front of 100 fans for the Atlanta High School Rabbits or 23,000 of Big Blue Nation’s finest for the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Here is how Collins’ high school coach, Jarrod Boston described his game prior to KSR prior to his commitment:

“His game, the best thing I can say about him is that he’s explosive,” Collins’ coach told KSR. “He just, he does some things that’ll have you shaking your head saying, “How did he do that?” It’s amazing watching his growth, really from the last two or three years, it’s amazing how good he’s gotten. He’s long, long-armed. What’s strange is, usually when you get the real tall kids – he’s about 6’10” – they don’t have the explosive jumping ability. He’s got like a 40- or 45-inch vertical, I think.”

The skill level is very raw at this point despite some incredible highlights. Fans should be cautious of not creating too high of expectations for Collins as a freshman. There will be some Top 10 plays but there will also be some serious growing pains. Either way, it is hard to keep someone with his physical gifts off of the court.

Let’s step on in to the KSR Film Room to take a look at Kentucky’s five-star forward signee, Daimion Collins. In case you missed them, be sure to check out the Film Room segments on TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler, C.J. Fredrick, and Kellan Grady. Over the next two weeks, the KSR Film Room will go back and provide film analysis on the Wildcats’ other incoming players Bryce Hopkins and Oscar Tshiebwe so stay tuned for that.

Rebounding & Finishing

As we dive into breaking down Daimion Collins, it makes sense to begin with the areas that will translate on the floor to Kentucky the best. When you watch Collins play, outside of his overall athleticism, the skill that sticks out the most is his motor and aggressiveness on the glass.

As is the case with almost all high school prospects, Collins will need to continue to learn how to play hard for extended periods of time. However, that is not an issue once a shot goes up. Collins is relentless going after offensive rebounds and is very active on the defensive glass. College evaluators and NBA scouts alike will talk about guys “rebounding outside of their area” and Daimion Collins absolutely does just that.

With his “go-go-gadget” arms and elite jumping ability, Collins is an absolute terror on the offensive glass. Most importantly, as alluded to above, Collins has shown the necessary motor to continue to track down offensive rebounds at the next level. If and when he plays minutes alongside Oscar Tshiebwe, the best offensive rebounder in college basketball, the Wildcats will be nearly impossible to stop on the glass.

As for his finishing ability, it admittedly is mostly about dunking the basketball right now. You won’t see back-to-the-basket post moves when watching his film. That will most likely be the case as a freshman at Kentucky as well. However, there are few players in the country that can finish above the rim the way Daimion Collins can.

Collins has a quick second jump which allows him to finish putbacks off of offensive rebounds before the defense can get back up to contest at the rim. Also, once again, his long arms and leaping ability allows him to simply get up above most defenders.

There is nothing flashy about this clip. It is a pretty routine offensive rebound and dunk. However, that is what the expectations need to be set at for Daimion Collins’ freshman season at Kentucky. His skill set is extremely raw but a lot of his best abilities rely on nothing more than length and athleticism. You can’t teach that.

This is a tough putback to finish as Collins corrals the ball below the rim and is towards the left block, but with his extreme length he is still able to slam the ball home before coming back down to the ground. If Collins contributes in a big was a freshman it will be by making a lot of plays like this.

Collins has excellent timing on the glass. He reads the ball well coming off of the rim and is quick off the floor. You can see how far he has to reach his arm out to corral this rebound and is still able to be on balance enough when he comes down to get back up above the rim quickly for a two-handed slam. That takes elite athleticism. When it comes to rebounding and dunking the basketball there are a lot of Isaiah Jackson similarities in Collins’ game.

The back-to-the-basket post moves are essentially non-existent, but there is some raw footwork that catches the eye when evaluating Collins in the post. He isn’t going to bang with the opposing bigs in the Southeastern Conference very much as a freshman, and truth be told the ball probably won’t get thrown to him very often on the block. However, the quick baseline spin move is the one move in his bag at this point. The finish is something special. This is one of the taller opponents that Collins played against during his senior high school season and he still easily elevates over him and flushes home a big dunk.

Outside of offensive rebound putback dunks, these baseline spin moves should be the ceiling of expectations for freshman Daimion Collins. SEC defenders may even bump him off balance on this move and catching the ball on the block will be much harder. Regardless, the athleticism is truly special. Collins puts his head at the rim to throw this one down with two hands. If and when he puts on some strength and starts to develop some post moves, Collins will have a chance to be a special player. For now though, it will just be about how many dunks he can get in the minutes he earns.

Blocking Shots

Much like Isaiah Jackson in 2020-2021, Daimion Collins lacks physicality and overall skill but makes up for it in off-the-charts potential as a dunker, rebounder, and shot blocker. After touching on the rebounding and above-the-rim finishing ability it is time to switch to the other side of the floor and break down what Collins will bring to the table as a rim protector.

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Shot blocking is a trait-oriented skill that often times you either have or you don’t. Some of the best like Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel couple superior athleticism with innate timing to erase shot after shot at the rim. Daimion Collins certainly has the bounciness and length to be mentioned alongside those two all-time greats, but it is hard to get a read on his timing on film due to the level of competition he was playing against.

Based on his timing when rebounding the basketball, it is fair to assume that the same skill shows up when protecting the rim. If that is the case, expect to see Daimion Collins earn a lot of minutes both backing up Oscar Tshiebwe but also playing alongside him in bigger lineups.

If Collins can finish dunks, rebound the basketball, and protect the rim he will play a critical role in the rotation next season. Anything beyond that is simply a bonus. Isaiah Jackson was more physically ready for the college game than Collins will be, but the comparison between the two is still there. The raw numbers may not jump off the page, but there will likely be a role for Collins to play right away in Lexington.

You have to give credit to the kid driving the ball to the basket here, he clearly was not phased by Daimion Collins waiting in the paint. Of course, that resulted in getting his layup attempt absolutely stuffed by the 6’9″ pogo stick. Truly great rim protectors don’t just block shots but they also deter opponents from even attempting shots around the basket. If Collins can garner that sort of reputation he will be worth his weight in gold on the defensive end for the ‘Cats.

This clip went viral for awhile online and understandably so. Collins comes from across the lane as the ball is driven and literally catches the shot attempt on its way up. It is important to remember that these clips are admittedly against pretty poor competition, but the level of athleticism that it takes to make a play like this still translates to the high-major college level.

This is a SportsCenter Top 10 block. You do get a little feel for his timing here along with just freakish jumping ability. Getting up and staying vertical is the name of the game at the college level to protect the rim without getting called for a foul. There are plenty of highlights just like this one from Collins’ high school career. You can fully expect to see a handful of “how did he just do that?” defensive plays next season at Kentucky.

Potential, Potential, Potential

To reiterate the theme of this Film Room piece, the raw traits of Daimion Collins as an athlete are through the roof. However, his day one contributions to the Wildcats will most likely be confined to finishing alley-oop dunks, rebounding the basketball, and protecting the rim.

At the same time, as mentioned earlier, if you allow yourself to dream a little bit, squint your eyes just right, and get lost in the highlight tapes you will see the highest ceiling of any player in the Class of 2021. Those highlight reel plays are what shot Collins up the rankings finishing as a consensus 5-star recruit and rated as the #13 player in the country according to 247Sports.

A lot of the plays you are about to see will not translate to the Rupp Arena floor. Collins was given the keys to the car and allowed to do whatever he wanted at the high school level because he was so far and away the most talented player on the floor. However, even though Coach Calipari presumably won’t allow him to handle the ball or shoot like he did in high school, it still provides a glimpse at some of the untapped potential that is lying underneath the surface.

It really can’t be overstated how athletic Daimion Collins is. This isn’t a clip of him flying through the air for a dunk or blocked shot, but it still takes a high level of athleticism. While bringing the ball up the floor as a 6’9″ forward, Collins stops on a dime, plants his foot, keeps his dribble under control, and nails a step back three-pointer. We won’t see this at Kentucky next season. Still, this is what he can potentially develop into. Collegiate strength and conditioning, nutrition, and a lot of time in the gym with the Wildcat assistant coaches will be huge for Collins.

One reason to be cautiously optimistic about how much Collins can contribute as a freshman is because of how fluidly he moves. The lack of strength is a legitimate worry, but when you move as well as he does it can help to mask some of the strength issues until he catches up in the weight room. While it may not translate to making threes right away, his fluid movement will lead to finishing a lot of dunks and rebounding outside of his area.

Speaking of how well Daimion Collins moves, check this play out. Once again, this most likely won’t be a play that we see at Kentucky. First off, Collins will not be asked (or allowed) to bring the ball up the floor. More importantly, he won’t be facing the low-level competition that he routinely went against as a high schooler. It still is exciting to see on film and you can’t help but dream up scenarios where we have a Kevin Durant type of talent in Lexington.