NBA Draft 2017 Prospect Watch: John Collins
By Adam Coffman
Wake Forest big man John Collins was one of the most productive players in all of college basketball last year. Would he make a good pick for the Milwaukee Bucks in this year’s NBA Draft?
Who is John Collins?
Wake Forest didn’t receive much national attention this year, bowing out in the First Four of the NCAA tournament, but they rostered one of college basketball’s most productive players in John Collins.
A 6’10”, 225 pound power forward, Collins averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks on just 26.6 minutes per game. His 35.9 PER led all college players who qualified for the leaderboard.
Although he was a sophomore in 2016-17, Collins still won’t be 20 years old until September.
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This makes him younger than at least three one-and-done players projected to go in the first round, and just slightly older than high-profile freshman like Lonzo Ball or De’Aaron Fox.
Posting a 29.9 percent usage rate, Collins was one of the only offensive options for a team that finished in the middle of the pack in the ACC.
This makes his efficiency (62 percent field goal percentage and 1.8 turnovers per game) all the more impressive.
That being said, questions about his game have been raised, most notably about his defense and ability to translate his craft to the NBA level.
To determine his worth as a prospect as well as his appeal to the Bucks, we’ll look at Collins’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as what the expert consensus says regarding his draft status.