John Collins: How Wake Forest Sophomore Could Be On Brooklyn’s Radar

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks was sighted at the ACC Tournament at Barclays Center. How high is the Nets front office on sophomore F/C John Collins?

It’s that time of year again — the NCAA Tournament. While teams are punching tickets to the big dance, many NBA fans are starting to peek at whom their teams will select in the 2017 NBA Draft.

While many fans can overreact to small sample sizes this time of year, it’s a decent way to formulate partial opinions on some of college basketball’s best talent.

Brooklyn Nets  general manager Sean Marks continues to harp on scouring the draft, D-League, international leagues alike when acquiring talent. But, now with two first-round picks in this year’s draft after a deadline-day deal with the Washington Wizards, Marks has some options.

I recently detailed some of the Nets’ draft day options, but after recently sighting Marks at Barclays Center for the ACC Tournament, there’s one big man they may have their eyes on: Wake Forest F/C John Collins.

The 6’10” sophomore from West Palm Beach, Fla., has been quite impressive in his second year with the Demon Deacons, averaging 19.1 points (third in the ACC) and 9.8 rebounds per game, proving to be quite the physical force down low.

Recently being named First-Team All-ACC, Collins has been recognized as one of the nation’s most improved players  after finishing up his freshman campaign playing only 14.4 minutes per game and averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds a night.

I had a chance to take a deeper look at Collins in his ACC Tournament game against Boston College Tuesday afternoon and can see why Marks and the Nets front office are so high on this kid.

Military Family Upbringing

Collins was born in Layton, Utah, as the son of parents serving in the United States military. While his mother, Lyria, was in the Air Force, his father, John, was in the Navy.

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Collins moved quite a bit as a young kid, even having a short stint in both Guam and Turkey, quickly adapting to new environments. But, the commitment to hard work, dedication and humble beginnings has really shown in his play this season.

And that has always been high on Marks’ list when looking for players to fill out the roster: high character guys. Coming from the San Antonio Spurs tree, Marks has made it a point to bring on guys that fit with the newly established Brooklyn Nets culture.

And, from all we hear about his upbringing and humble beginnings, Collins fits the Marks mold.

Offensive Post Presence

Collins has shown a knack for having a deep arsenal of post moves. He is quickly able to find his spots on the low block, creating great position against his defender. When he catches the ball in the post, he’s quick to make his move, showing poise with his jump-hook.

Even when he’s met by double-teams, Collins isn’t one to panic, patiently waiting for his teammates to get open and make the pass out of the double team.

What’s most impressive to me is Collins’ determination to create space in the post, showing confidence that once he gets the entry pass from a guard on the wing, he can easily body-up with his defender and make a savvy move on the block.

Athleticism Around The Rim

Collins does most of his damage on the low block, but has really come on strong as someone that can rise up and attack the rim.

His high shooting percentage is much to do with his great dunking ability, as he’s learned that while he may have great position on the block, he can sneakily turn for a backdoor alley-oop.

When asked what’s most impressive about his game, fellow HoopsHabit columnist Joshua Cornelissen had this to say about the sophomore forward.

"“Collins looks dominant on the court in a way I haven’t seen since Blake Griffin. The idea that guarding him with one player gives you no hope to stop him.”"

Areas To Improve: Expanding His Range

While Collins is a great low-post scorer, his added value in the NBA will come with expanding his range, bringing 4s and 5s out to 15-17 feet on the wings, challenging them to guard him in space.

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While he’s start to develop a nice face-up game (has a nice little jab step to get defenders to bite on the drive), Collins will have to start to expand his range a bit more to bring some added value to the NBA’s stretch-four heavy league.

All in all, Collins provides the fundamentals to be a solid NBA low-post scorer. But when looking at the Brooklyn Nets roster construction this offseason, Marks has to be cognizant about Collins’ fit next to Brook Lopez.

But while the eighth-year center out of Stanford has seen his fair share of trade rumors, acquiring Collins in the draft may be a sign that the Nets may move on from Lopez and look to trade him in either this upcoming draft or in the offseason.

While Collins is currently projected 15th on Draft Express’ latest mock, using Lopez and one of their two first-round picks (both in the 20s) could be an option for Marks to move up in the draft.

Lopez’s expiring $21 million deal could be enticing to some teams that are looking for an offensive big man to complement their first scoring option. But, the Nets would have to absorb some salary to make the deal work.

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However, Marks was fairly aggressive in going after Caris LeVert in last year’s draft, trading Thaddeus Young for the 20th overall pick. So, look for the second-year GM to do something similar this go-around and it could be for Collins.