By JACOB POLACHECK
After picking up an offer on Tuesday, Class of 2021 point guard Frankie Collins has added Howard to his Top Nine schools.
“I know that Howard is a really good school,” Collins said by phone Tuesday. “Makur [Maker] and I played together last year, so we have a relationship.
“I know that HBCU’s have been a big thing lately and I wanted to add them to my top schools because of what’s going on right now with police brutality and the black culture. I thought it would be smart to take it seriously and look into it.”
In addition to Howard, Collins is also considering New Mexico, Arizona State, USC, Michigan, Georgetown, Kansas, Vanderbilt and Auburn.
He broke down each school:
New Mexico: “I have a good relationship with coach Brandon Mason. Even when he was at UNLV, they weren’t recruiting me yet, but I knew Brandon Mason. I’d see him in the gym and we’d talk. It carried over to when he got the coaching job at New Mexico. I went there last summer around June and went to their team camp, got to hang out with the coaches, meet the players. Ever since then, it’s been good. We have a good relationship.”
Arizona State: “They offered me in June as well. When I went to their team camp to play with Arizona Compass in the summer, they had offered me and we talked. I got to look around the school, see the campus and hang out with the coaches. Coach Bobby Hurley has seen me play a couple times. Our relationship is really good and I like their play style. They get up and down, play hard, play defense and everybody eats.”
USC: “They’ve been recruiting me since last summer, as well. They kind of stopped for a second, but then they picked it up back up a couple months ago. They’ve been there throughout the whole process, seeing my development. I got the chance to visit and see campus last summer.”
Georgetown: “They’ve got a great coaching staff. I got to go on an official visit. They’ve got coach [Patrick] Ewing and the whole coaching staff, coach [Clinton] Crouch. They’re all really cool. I’ve also been on a couple Zoom calls with them as well. My relationship with them is really good.”
Michigan: “I’ve known Juwan Howard since I was young. I actually have a couple of pictures with him when I was little. I played against his son growing up so I would always see him around in the gym. Then, when he got the coaching job at Michigan, coach Saddi Washington hit me up and watched me play a couple times. We had a Zoom call last week that was about two hours long. I think we’re going to do another Zoom call in a couple days.”
Kansas: “Coach [Kurtis] Townshend and I have been talking since my sophomore year when they first offered me. He’s always been big on my development, getting in there and helping me. He was there when my uncle was at Cal so he’s always been helpful. I wanted to get out there and take a visit but I couldn’t because of COVID. Other than that, the relationship is good. We’ve been building for a long time now.”
Vanderbilt: “We had one or two Zoom calls. The relationship with coach [Damany] Hendrix has been good. We talk almost every day, every other day if not every day. We talk about basketball, life and things we’ve got going on. He’s really helpful and my relationship with him is very strong. He’s an Oakland Soldiers guy and I was set to play with them this summer.”
Auburn: “Coach Bruce Pearl taps in with me almost every day. Coach Wes [Flanigan] taps in with me every day. We had one Zoom call. I think we’re going to do another one. That was one school I was really looking forward to visiting. They have a family culture and everything they’ve got going on over there is good. Their play style a two-guard set focused on playing hard, playing defense, playing their right way really develops a winning culture there.”
Collins took his first and only official visit to Georgetown in March.
“I went there and had a good time,” he said. “It was a really good visit. I got to see them play against Villanova. They ended up losing but they fought hard and were short a couple players.”
Collins says his next steps are evaluating his options and taking visits.
“At this point now it’s just about knowing if I can come in and have an immediate impact, being able to help the team immediately,” he said. “I just want to go to a place that feels like home.
“If everything opens up, I will definitely take visits in the fall.”
In terms of visits, Collins says he’ll “likely” take official visits to Michigan, Auburn, Kansas, Vanderbilt and USC in the fall.
“I’ll do a couple unofficials as well to the rest,” he said.
Collins will have a Zoom call with Michigan staff on Thursday.
According to 247Sports.com, Collins is ranked as the No. 10 point guard and No. 79 overall player in the Class of 2021.
“I’m a guy who’s going to play hard every time. You know what you’re going to get,” Collins said. “I’m a point guard who’s going to make my teammates better and do whatever I have to do to get the win. I can finish at the rim, pass the ball and finish on the break. I can guard the 1-3 positions.”
Collins has also been working on his jump shot lately.
“I’m an improved shooter,” he said. “I’ve been working on catching and shooting as well as shooting off the dribble.”
This past weekend, Collins played with Coronado (NV) averaging nearly 23 points, six rebounds and five assists alongside five-star prospect Jaden Hardy.
Off the court, Collins spends his time like most other high schoolers listening to rap music. He says he’s been listening to Lil Baby, Polo G and Lil Durk lately.
“I’m big on music and I kind of like dancing as well,” he said.
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