Gonzaga fans are probably bummed that star big man Zach Collins decided to go the one-and-done route (first player in school history to bail after a year), but you can’t blame the guy. Collins is one of the top centers in this year’s draft class — Chad Ford ranked him as the ninth-best player on his big board, while Draft Express is more bearish and ranked him 17th.
A snippet of Collins’ strengths and weaknesses via Draft Express:
Collins is a versatile offensive player, not particularly consistent in any one area, but showing a nice frame-work of skills to build off. He shows flashes of being able to do a little bit of everything at this early stage of his development, and was both highly prolific and efficient as a freshman, despite his lack of experience and polish.
Another question mark surrounding Collins’ transition to the NBA revolves around his passing ability and seemingly just-decent feel for the game. He does not appear to have great court vision or playmaking instincts, ranking as one of the worst passers in our Top-100 statistically. He’s not really a guy you want making decisions with the ball, which can be somewhat of an issue in today’s NBA operating at the power forward position, where he’ll be asked to read defenses in closeout situations, out of short rolls, and in dribble-handoffs.
Where the latest mock drafts have Collins:
Draft Express: No. 10 (Kings)
Chad Ford (In$$$ider): No. 10 (Kings)
CBS Sports: No. 13 (Nuggets)
SI: No. 13 (Nuggets)
Basically we all need to pray for Collins, because some experts seem to think he’ll end up in basketball hell (Sacramento).
Off the court, Zach is doing well for himself dating UCLA Alpha Phi Angelica Payne:
