Michigan Basketball: 3 thoughts on Frankie Collins transfer

Michigan basketball added a guard in the transfer portal earlier this week and on Saturday, the Wolverines lost one too as Frankie Collins is leaving. 

Sometimes it’s hard to get a read on things from the outside but when Michigan basketball first added transfer guard Jaelin Llewellyn, it didn’t seem like a threat to Frankie Collins.

But as it turns out, Michigan basketball must envision more of a point guard role for Llewellyn, and the reason we can believe that to be true is the fact that Frankie Collins entered the transfer portal on Saturday, something I doubt he would do if Llewellyn was coming as a two-guard.

There have been rumblings of a transfer for weeks but not many assumed it would be Frankie Collins. Of course, the Wolverines also thought they had a good chance of getting Terrence Shannon which could have changed how things played out.

Yet, even if U-M landed Shannon, it still seems like the Wolverines would have taken Llewellyn, which tells you they had concerns about point guard, particularly for a team with hopes of winning a Big Ten championship now that Hunter Dickinson is back.

Before we get to the reaction, here’s the tweet from Frankie Collins.

https://twitter.com/Frankiecollins0/status/1520510719598366721

How much goes it hurt?

Losing Collins hurts, just because he signed with Michigan as a top-50 recruit in the 2021 class and one season later, he’s out the door. It’s the new age of college hoops but it’s still a bummer, especially after how he played in the tournament.

That being said, Frankie still had a lot of question marks surrounding his game heading into this season. Defensively, and as a ball-handler, he looked ready to take over at point guard, but his shooting is the big question mark. He shot 44 percent from the free throw line last season as he averaged 2.8 points per game and 1.4 assists. He was also 3-of-18 from 3-point range (16 percent).

Michigan was right to pursue a combo guard in the portal. I took the view that Llewellyn was more of an Eli Brooks replacement. Instead, it looks like he and Dug McDaniel will be handling the point guard duties for the Wolverines next season.