Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines brought in one of the most talented freshman classes in America this season. Five-stars Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate will likely make an impact right away, while others like point guard Frankie Collins will have to be patient and wait patiently in the wings before significantly contributing on the court.
Let’s look back on his recruitment, how he landed in Ann Arbor and what we can expect from Collins this season.
The story so far
Collins was a four-star recruit in the class of 2021 out of Henderson, Nevada. He had real solid offers from tons of programs, but narrowed his list down to eight in July 2020 — Michigan, USC, Kansas, Auburn, Arizona State, New Mexico, Georgetown and Vanderbilt. At the time he dropped that top list, he didn’t even hold a Michigan offer, proving his interest in Howard and the program was real.
He finally earned his scholarship to Michigan on Aug. 14, 2020, and that changed everything for him. So much so that he committed just five days later on Aug. 19. It was a preexisting relationship with Howard that made Collins so enamored and comfortable to commit to Michigan.
“They started recruiting me at the beginning of my junior year and then they watched me play in December,” Collins told The Michigan Insider. “Ever since then we have been in touch all during the quarantine. Also, me and Juwan Howard have a relationship since I was in the fourth grade and I would always play against his son (Jace). We have a couple of pictures together as well.”
Collins never wavered from his commitment and signed his letter of intent Nov. 2020.
Outlook for 2021-22
With DeVante’ Jones, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, taking over for Mike Smith at the point guard position this season, Collins is destined to come off the bench for Michigan. The best thing he can do is be a sponge and soak in as much information and guidance as possible from Jones and the others on the team who were there before him.
But that doesn’t mean he won’t see the court this year. I fully expect Collins to be the first point guard off the bench for the Wolverines, as I see sophomore Zeb Jackson being more of a combo guard instead of a true point guard. Collins will have his fair share of playing time this year, but he will really have to earn it — like Hunter Dickinson did a season ago — if he wants to contribute consistently as a true freshman.
Collins should see quality minutes this season before taking over as the starting point guard his sophomore year.