Wake Forest Athletics
John Collins on the NBA's Biggest Stage
2/18/2019 4:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two years ago today—February 18, 2017—then-sophomore John Collins scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a thriller at Cameron Indoor Stadium. If Wake Forest fans didn't realize it then, they certainly know it now: Collins, who participated in two days of Charlotte's NBA All-Star Weekend, is an emerging star on the basketball court.
Competing in front of friends and familiar faces in the state of North Carolina this past weekend, Collins participated in Friday's Rising Stars Game and Saturday's Dunk Contest. Both events gave the second-year Atlanta Hawk an opportunity to showcase his athleticism and growth as a player in a weekend that was first and foremost a homecoming of sorts.
"I always get excited when I get to come [to North Carolina]," said Collins ahead of the Rising Stars Game and Dunk Contest.
"A lot of really important developmental years went down here. So whenever I come back it gives me those feelings of when I was at Wake. Going out to Wake Forest and developing in a more unorthodox way, with Coach [Danny] Manning, being able to come back [to North Carolina] I think brings back a certain emotion of you know you did a certain amount of things to get you to where you are now and it's special."
Collins of course spent two seasons in Old Gold and Black with Coach Manning. From year one to year two Collins experienced tremendous growth as a Deac, increasing his production from 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman to 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
As the ACC's most-improved player in 2017, Collins declared for the NBA Draft and was selected by the Hawks in the first round. In just his second year with Atlanta, Collins has emerged as the franchise's No. 1 option, leading the team in points per game (19.1), rebounds (9.5) and field-goal percentage (57.4).
Collins attributes a lot of his early success to the development he experienced at Wake Forest, especially as it related to scoring without the basketball.
The 6-10 forward certainly knows how to score with the basketball too, especially when it involves taking the ball to the rim. As one of the more exciting young players in today's NBA, Collins earned his invitations to compete in Charlotte.
In Friday's Rising Stars Game, which exclusively featured first and second year players, Collins put on a show for Team USA, scoring 12 points, 10 of which were a product of spectacular dunks. His dunks featured a double-pump, a self-lob off the glass, as well as a sensational 360-degree alley-oop from Hawks teammate Trae Young. Team USA went on to defeat Team World 161-144.
After the game some of Collins' Team USA teammates weighed in on the show he put on, dunking the basketball.
"My favorite dunk of the night was when he threw it off the backboard," said De'Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings.
"I told him to stop jumping," said Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz. "He needs to rest [for the Dunk Contest]."
According to Collins he was just out there having fun, trying to give a little preview of what was to come Saturday night.
Collins undeniably put on a show Friday night. But that didn't prevent him from doing the same for Saturday's Dunk Contest. Collins, who became the first Demon Deacon to ever compete in the event, had a few tricks left in his bag.
In his first dunk, Collins threw the ball off the backboard, grabbed the corner of the glass and threw it down on the other side, one-handed. Despite the creativity, the dunk only earned him a modest 40 points.
For his second dunk, Collins paid homage to both North Carolina's history as the "First in Flight" and also to the Tuskegee Airmen. Collins jumped over a model of the Wright Brothers' first plane and dunked wearing a leather hat and a white scarf.
Again, despite the creativity, the dunk earned him another average score, this time of 42.
Competing against Miles Bridges, a Charlotte Hornet, and Dennis Smith Jr., a North Carolina native and former member of the NC State Wolfpack, Collins recognized that he might not have the type of crowd support that could propel him to victory.
"Yeah, I didn't get any love," Collins said of the reactions from the crowd and judges. "I knew Miles and Dennis were going to get some hometown love, but … they were pretty harsh. The judges were harsh tonight, too."
As a competitor, Collins was certainly not happy with his early exit, failing to reach the championship round.
"I lost, I didn't want to lose," said Collins. "I wanted to come in and win, take the championship back. ... So, um, I've gotta come back with a different plan."
Only time will tell, but it sounds like Collins may be open to seeking redemption in a future NBA All-Star Weekend. Hopefully that future invitation includes two events, just like it did this year—only next time with the opportunity to play on Sunday with the league's best, in place of Friday's Rising Stars Game.
Collins acknowledged that he's "knocking on the door" of the primetime All-Star Game. With two months left in his second season, Collins has the chance to begin making that case.
By Kyle Tatich, Wake Forest Athletics Fellow
Competing in front of friends and familiar faces in the state of North Carolina this past weekend, Collins participated in Friday's Rising Stars Game and Saturday's Dunk Contest. Both events gave the second-year Atlanta Hawk an opportunity to showcase his athleticism and growth as a player in a weekend that was first and foremost a homecoming of sorts.
"I always get excited when I get to come [to North Carolina]," said Collins ahead of the Rising Stars Game and Dunk Contest.
"A lot of really important developmental years went down here. So whenever I come back it gives me those feelings of when I was at Wake. Going out to Wake Forest and developing in a more unorthodox way, with Coach [Danny] Manning, being able to come back [to North Carolina] I think brings back a certain emotion of you know you did a certain amount of things to get you to where you are now and it's special."
Collins of course spent two seasons in Old Gold and Black with Coach Manning. From year one to year two Collins experienced tremendous growth as a Deac, increasing his production from 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman to 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
As the ACC's most-improved player in 2017, Collins declared for the NBA Draft and was selected by the Hawks in the first round. In just his second year with Atlanta, Collins has emerged as the franchise's No. 1 option, leading the team in points per game (19.1), rebounds (9.5) and field-goal percentage (57.4).
Collins attributes a lot of his early success to the development he experienced at Wake Forest, especially as it related to scoring without the basketball.
The 6-10 forward certainly knows how to score with the basketball too, especially when it involves taking the ball to the rim. As one of the more exciting young players in today's NBA, Collins earned his invitations to compete in Charlotte.
In Friday's Rising Stars Game, which exclusively featured first and second year players, Collins put on a show for Team USA, scoring 12 points, 10 of which were a product of spectacular dunks. His dunks featured a double-pump, a self-lob off the glass, as well as a sensational 360-degree alley-oop from Hawks teammate Trae Young. Team USA went on to defeat Team World 161-144.
After the game some of Collins' Team USA teammates weighed in on the show he put on, dunking the basketball.
"My favorite dunk of the night was when he threw it off the backboard," said De'Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings.
"I told him to stop jumping," said Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz. "He needs to rest [for the Dunk Contest]."
According to Collins he was just out there having fun, trying to give a little preview of what was to come Saturday night.
Collins undeniably put on a show Friday night. But that didn't prevent him from doing the same for Saturday's Dunk Contest. Collins, who became the first Demon Deacon to ever compete in the event, had a few tricks left in his bag.
In his first dunk, Collins threw the ball off the backboard, grabbed the corner of the glass and threw it down on the other side, one-handed. Despite the creativity, the dunk only earned him a modest 40 points.
For his second dunk, Collins paid homage to both North Carolina's history as the "First in Flight" and also to the Tuskegee Airmen. Collins jumped over a model of the Wright Brothers' first plane and dunked wearing a leather hat and a white scarf.
Again, despite the creativity, the dunk earned him another average score, this time of 42.
Competing against Miles Bridges, a Charlotte Hornet, and Dennis Smith Jr., a North Carolina native and former member of the NC State Wolfpack, Collins recognized that he might not have the type of crowd support that could propel him to victory.
"Yeah, I didn't get any love," Collins said of the reactions from the crowd and judges. "I knew Miles and Dennis were going to get some hometown love, but … they were pretty harsh. The judges were harsh tonight, too."
As a competitor, Collins was certainly not happy with his early exit, failing to reach the championship round.
"I lost, I didn't want to lose," said Collins. "I wanted to come in and win, take the championship back. ... So, um, I've gotta come back with a different plan."
Only time will tell, but it sounds like Collins may be open to seeking redemption in a future NBA All-Star Weekend. Hopefully that future invitation includes two events, just like it did this year—only next time with the opportunity to play on Sunday with the league's best, in place of Friday's Rising Stars Game.
Collins acknowledged that he's "knocking on the door" of the primetime All-Star Game. With two months left in his second season, Collins has the chance to begin making that case.
By Kyle Tatich, Wake Forest Athletics Fellow
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