WATCH: Daimion Collins throws down second vicious dunk of night in Bahamas

It’s the Daimion Collins show down in Baha Mar. For the second time Wednesday night, the Kentucky big man slammed home a baseline dunk over a member of the Dominican Republic U-22 National Team.

DAIMION DID IT AGAIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/c3GPJsq6S5

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) August 11, 2022

In the first half, the springy sophomore rattled the rim over two members of the Dominican Republic U-22 National Team Wednesday night during the Wildcats’ Big Blue Bahama’s trip.

OH MY DAIMION COLLINS!!!!! pic.twitter.com/9bW7VMMv5u

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) August 10, 2022

As a freshman, the former consensus five-star recruit appeared in 27 games for the Wildcats, including one start against North Florida in which he dropped 12 points, six rebounds, and three blocks — arguably his best outing of the year. He averaged 2.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in just 7.4 minutes per contest, falling out of the rotation once SEC play rolled around.

Heading into the 2022 season, Collins will slide into a stretch four role for Kentucky, as Wooden Award winner Oscar Tshiebwe will man the paint down low. Collins will share time with fellow power forward Jacob Toppin – someone else who is capable of highlight reel dunks as well.

Catch the remainder of Kentucky’s opening game in the Bahama’s live on the SEC Network or ESPN+.

Kentucky men’s basketball prioritizing rim protection during offseason

Looking up and down Kentucky’s roster for the upcoming 2022-23 season, there isn’t a player listed as taller than 6-foot-9. This team might not have overwhelming height, but it does have plenty of high-level athletes with just as much versatility. With that in mind, the Kentucky coaching staff is putting a major focus on protecting the rim this offseason. 

“We should block more shots. That’s a huge point of emphasis for us, is our rim protection,” Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman told the media on Thursday. “Even though Oscar (Tshiebwe) averaged one and a half blocks per game, he’s not considered a shot blocker as much as Daimion (Collins) and Jacob (Toppin) and some of our guards can be.

“I remember watching Kentucky basketball years ago when you had guys like Eric Bledsoe, guys like John Wall who would go up and block shots. I think we have that now with some of our guards being able to protect the rim, it won’t just come from our interior.”

During the 2021-22 season, Kentucky averaged 4.2 blocks per game as a team, which ranked 64th in the nation. Oscar Tshiebwe‘s 1.6 blocks per game were one of the top figures in the country, but no other Wildcat registered more than 0.7 blocks per outing. It was the worst season for Kentucky in that statistical category in well over a decade.

On3’s Zack Geoghegan contributed to this report.