NBA Draft Prospects: Top 5 Big Men
3. John Collins, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Under the tutelage of Danny Manning at Wake Forest, John Collins transformed himself from Class of 2015 afterthought to one of the top big men in the 2017 NBA Draft.
During his breakout sophomore season at Wake Forest, where Collins ranked in the top four of the ACC in points (19.4), rebounds (9.8), and blocks (1.6) per game, the Deamon Deacons' big man racked up plenty of honors in the ACC. The sophomore took home the Most Improved Player Award, an All-Conference Team appearance, and finished second to North Carolina's Justin Jackson for ACC Player of the Year.
Collins, who led the nation with a 35.9 player efficiency rating, was front and center as Wake Forest enjoyed an eight-win improvement over the 2015-16 season and made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in seven seasons.
When breaking down Collins' game, we see that his best attributes come on the offensive end. A natural low-post player, he has a variety of moves and a soft touch around the rim. He sank an astonishing 74.7% of his 225 shot attempts at the rim, helping him lead the ACC with a two-point field goal percentage of 62.4%. While it wasn't his forte, Collins was able to face the basket and knock down mid-range jumpers as well. He connected on 69 of his 154 two-point jumpers for a respectable 44.8%.
Collins' talents on offense wasn't limited to scoring either, as he ranked 10th in the nation with an 18.4% offensive rebound percentage while grabbing 4.0 offensive rebounds per game.
At only 6'9 1/2", with shoes, Collins is a bit undersized to play the center position in the NBA. If he is limited to playing just power forward, Collins will need to stretch his range to fit today's pro game. He hoisted just one three-point attempt in his two seasons at Wake but has shown some potential to add the shot to his game during the NBA Combine and individual team workouts.
Defensively, Collins needs to put in some work too. He will have to improve his footwork, as opponents will be able to neutralize his positives (shot blocking, rebounding) by forcing Collins to defend a stretch-four on the perimeter. Teams can also attack Collins straight on, trying to draw fouls. In his two seasons at Wake, he averaged 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes, limiting him to just 26.4 minutes per game his sophomore season.
The Denver Nuggets at the 13th pick would be an interesting spot for Collins to land. With their center of the future lined up with Nikola Jokic, the Nugs could play the two alongside each other. That would allow Jokic to step away from the basket and run the offense while still having an inside scorer and rebounder present.
