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Gonzaga’s Zach Collins has spent most of his freshman season in the shadows–namely a 7-foot-1, Przemek Karnowski-sized shadow–but he can’t hide from NBA scouts.
A quick glance at Collins’ numbers may not exactly scream “NBA prospect”: 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 0.5 steals per game.
But those numbers suddenly look a lot different when you factor in him coming off the bench behind Karnowski in all 36 games this season. On a per-40 minutes pace adjusted scale, he averages 22.8 points (12th among DraftExpress’ Top 100 prospects), 12.9 rebounds (seventh) and 3.7 blocks (second, behind only 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall). He’s also been an efficiency monster, ranking first in true-shooting percentage (72.0).
Skeptics may say, “yeah, but WCC,” and while that’s fair, Collins, a 7-footer with a versatile inside-outside offensive game, a soft touch, an ability to protect the rim and tremendous agility for a player of his size, also tends to pass the eye test.
In Malibu for Pepperdine-Gonzaga. First look at Zags freshman big Zach Collins. Soft touch, mobile, nice frame.
Really soft touch out to three from Zach Collins
In Collins’ seven games this year against schools from the power conferences (Florida, Iowa State, Arizona, Washington, Tennessee, Northwestern, West Virginia), he’s averaging 7.4 points on 60.0 percent shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 17.1 minutes per contest. Certainly not eye-popping numbers, but again, he has often looked the part.
Most outlets (according to the mock drafts for ESPN, CBS, Sports Illustrated and Draft Express) don’t seem convinced that Collins is leaving, while I have him slotted as the 24th overall pick in my newest mock draft simply because I tend to include the best players until they announce one way or the another.
It’s pretty clear that Collins would help himself by staying another year and showing that he can dominate for 30 minutes per game, but for now, there’s no clear answer on what he’ll do.
“He might make the decision to jump, he may make the decision to come back,” said his Dad. “But one thing I know about Zach he’ll be very cerebral about it. He’ll make up his own mind.”
Either way, whether it’s this year or next, Collins has the look of a first-round talent on the rise.
