Arizona State point guard Frankie Collins proving to be an elite defender
The Arizona State men's basketball team was locked in a tight battle with SMU. It rallied from a 12-point deficit to tie the game with five minutes left. The Mustangs were inbounding the ball at midcourt after a timeout.
ASU point guard Frankie Collins swarmed ball-handler B.J. Edwards as he took the pass, poked the ball loose, scooped it up and raced to the other end. A dunk punctuated a play that put the Sun Devils on top for good and brought the Desert Financial Arena crowd to its feet.
That play gave Collins his fourth steal of the night and was part of a 17-point effort that contributed to a 76-71 Sun Devils victory.
Such plays have made Collins the heartbeat of the team. He leads the Sun Devils in scoring (13.6 ppg), assists (3.7 apg) and steals (3.3 spg). He even leads in rebounding (6.1 rpg), the latter category typically reserved for a forward or center who could dwarf the 6-foot-1 Collins in size.
"Frankie has been playing at a high level," ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. "He put a lot of work in on his shot and you've seen, he's making timely shots. That was kind of the missing piece because he's such a good player on defense, so athletic, so good in the open court. He's a willing passer. He's a leader so he's kind of got everything you look for at that position. He's starting to trust his shot more and the ball is going in and you see him playing more confidently."
Next opportunities for Frankie Collins
Collins and the Sun Devils (6-3) are headed to the Lone Star state for a Saturday matchup against Texas Christian University (7-1) at Dickies Arena that will be televised on ESPNU. It will be a rematch of a first round NCAA Tournament game won by the Horned Frogs 72-70 last season. It's also a preview of future matchups with ASU headed to the Big 12 next season.
Collins not only leads the team in defense, he's proven to be an elite defender on a bigger scale. He ranks fourth in the country in steals per game, trailing only Arturo Dean of Florida International (4.36 spg), Tamin Lipsey of Iowa State (3.6 spg) and Damani McEntire of Bethune-Cookman (3.56 spg).
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He had a single-game school record of eight in a 71-69 win over UMass-Lowell. If that wasn't enough, he scored the game-winning bucket on a driving layup with 2 seconds left.
"That's my job out there. Make it tough on the other guy," Collins said. "I like it. Sometimes you can get into a slump when it comes to shooting but if you're playing good defense you can make up for that. Defense really is all about effort."
Collins has earned the respect of his teammates, even the newer ones.
Collins getting a feel for things in Tempe
"He brings energy," newcomer Jose Perez said. "Defensively. He guards the best player on the floor, makes a lot of effort plays and he makes an open shot. He takes pride in that defense too."
Collins is in his second year with the program after transferring from Michigan following his freshman season in Ann Arbor. As a sophomore last season, he averaged 9.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
Collins says he came into the season more comfortable with a year in Hurley's system under his belt. He admits playing for the best point guard to have competed in the college game can be a challenge but thinks Hurley has brought out the best in him.
"He's definitely harder on me. He has a high standard and he's putting all the weight on my shoulders, giving me the keys to the car. That's always a good feeling that he trusts me," Collins said.
After last season Collins declared for the draft but it was more for exploratory purposes than actually getting drafted. That process allows for a player to get some feedback from NBA personnel as to what parts of their game need the most work.
Feedback from NBA circles
Collins said the advice he got was to work on his shot. That has been reflected in his percentages. He shot 40.1% last year and has improved that to 45% this season, although the season is still young. His free-throw percentage is down ever so slightly from 62.2, to 61.1, something he acknowledges he needs to improve upon.
"They wanted to see better shooting splits, free-throw percentage," Collins said. "More shooting also being more consistent and efficient with my game, taking that leadership role and being that point guard you have to be to get to the next level."
Hurley has had to rely on Collins now more than ever, particularly since he is one of just three players back from a team that went 23-13 and won a play-in game to get the right to square off with TCU. The others are junior guard Jamiya Neal and senior forward Alonzo Gaffney.
With 10 newcomers, the offense has taken some time to come together, so it has had to rely on its tenacity on the defensive end of the floor which plays right into Collins' strength.
He is hoping to build on that strong start and help get the offense rolling on a more consistent basis. ASU's biggest problem right now is its weakness in the paint with 7-foot center Shawn Phillips and 6-9 forward Zane Meeks both sidelined for five and three games respectively. A win against TCU and one after that against Northwestern at the Footprint Center could go a long way in building a postseason resume.
"Just happy to see some shots go in. I know early on it wasn't there but I've been working a lot on the jump shot, just having confidence, my teammates having confidence in me. The coaches do to so how can I not," Collins said.
"I like to play within the game, let the game come to me. I don't try and force anything. Understand, this guy has a hot hand, we need to feed him. Understand maybe we're struggling and I need to be the guy to go get a basket. It's also being on the same page with my teammates."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU PG Frankie Collins proving to be an elite defender
