Daimion Collins carving out role in Kentucky's frontcourt through energy plays

Daimion Collins sent all of Rupp Arena into a frenzy on Friday night with one emphatic slam dunk.

The 6-foot-9 freshman forward is like a blank canvas that the Kentucky coaches are just begging to paint. Collins famously never lifted weights before arriving in Lexington and played against high schoolers mostly half-a-foot shorter than him. He is incredibly raw but possesses the freak athleticism that has him viewed as a first-round pick this summer.

That alien-like ability to out-jump anybody was put on full display a few days ago. Against Robert Morris, Collins played his best game to date through his still-very young Wildcat career. The Texas native finished with 14 points on 7-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and four blocks in just 21 minutes of action. He was dunking everything and intimidating opposing shooters.

Kentucky cruised to a 40-point win, but Collins put the exclamation point on what was an overall blast of an evening for the Big Blue Nation. If you watched the game, you know exactly which play I’m referring to…

Already ahead 91-54 with roughly two minutes in regulation, UK point guard Sahvir Wheeler forced a turnover and quickly began to do what he does best: run in transition. Darting down the right sideline, Wheeler had Wildcat wings Dontaie Allen and Bryce Hopkins to his left against just one Robert Morris defender. A score was imminent, but the way it went down was not.

Wheeler slowed down as he neared the paint then tossed a shovel pass to Collins, who was behind the three-point arc at the time. Collins caught the ball at the free-throw line, took two build-up steps, then unleashed his best Willie Cauley-Stein impersonation that nearly blew the roof off of Rupp Arena.

OH. MY. DAIMION. COLLINS.

🙀 @CollinsDaimion pic.twitter.com/24hw1YGezi

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 13, 2021

In reality, Collins might have been the least shocked person in the entire building. He was incredibly humble in the postgame press conference when talking about the dunk. It was the reaction from the Kentucky bench and the crowd of nearly 20,000 people that had the building buzzing.

Judging from Wheeler’s reaction, you would have thought he was the one who just ethered that poor Robert Morris defender.

“That was an incredible play,” Wheeler said on Monday of Collins’ dunk. “That’s how I am, I’m super excited when I see my other teammates have success. And for him to have a play like that and for him to have a half like that, I know it meant a lot to him and it meant a lot to our team. He was awesome.”

In the replay of the dunk, Kentucky shooting guard Kellan Grady and center Oscar Tshiebwe are a few feet onto the court when it happened, screaming in disbelief and cheering on the young Collins. For a brief moment, they were fans, too.

“That play, I didn’t even see him,” Grady said on Monday. “It was like a 4-on-1 and he was like the fourth. I didn’t even think he was in the play because I was looking at the two guys on the wing and Sahvir. Then all of the sudden he just jumped from the SEC (logo) so it just kinda caught me off guard.

“And you guys saw my excitement. I got yelled at by some of the assistants too. But in a game like, to see big plays like that, to see Daimion just get his feet wet and he was clearly comfortable in that game. That’s what our team is great at doing, making high-level plays like that.”

As Grady mentions, comfortability is key for Collins right now. He was clearly out of his element playing against Duke in Madison Square Garden, but most freshmen are. It was always going to be a developmental process for Collins; this upcoming stretch of games will help him settle in.

Kentucky is in the midst of a seven-game string of home matchups, all against non-Power 5 opponents. Collins will have plenty of opportunities to learn and help shore up a thin Wildcat frontline.

“I think the biggest thing we were missing in that first game (against Duke) was a shot-blocking, rim presence,” Wheeler said. “And that’s what Daimion did for us in that second game. He had four blocks, he altered a lot of shots, and did it without fouling.”

Tshiebwe is clearly Kentucky’s go-to player inside, especially when it comes to hitting the glass. But after him, question marks arise. Collins is expected to be the answer by the time March rolls around. If he can eventually look like the NBA Draft pick people are expecting, UK’s frontcourt receives a massive boost.

“If those two guys are clicking, Daimion is playing really hard, our team can beat anybody in the country, I feel like, with 100 percent confidence,” Wheeler added.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari said after the win over Robert Morris that Collins has to play more–simple as that. That’s the only way he can help this squad reach its ceiling. If Collins can continue to build off his performance from Friday, Kentucky will be in great shape moving forward.