Michigan Basketball: 3 thoughts on Frankie Collins transfer

Projecting the plan at point guard

Now that we know the idea is for Jaelin Llewellyn to play point guard, it makes sense for a couple of reasons. For one, Llewellyn wasn’t a great defender at Princeton and that’s why it was hard to project him being as effective as Eli Brooks at the two.

Even though Eli was a much better defender, Llewellyn is a better scorer. He’s also a better athlete than most Ivy League transfers and was a top-100 recruit in high school. Playing at the point guard spot is going to make his life easier than having to defend bigger guards in the Big Ten.

Mike Smith wasn’t an elite defender and he didn’t prove to be a huge liability back in the 2021 season for the Wolverines, but he also had Franz Wagner playing on the wing, as well as Isaiah Livers, Brooks, and Chaundee Brown.

While Llewellyn is likely to start at point guard, he can still play as a combo and I think this departure by Frankie puts Dug McDaniel in line to have a bigger role.

McDaniel was already going to see minutes next season but now that he’s essentially the new point guard of the future, next season is going to be even more important if Michigan basketball is ever going to stop the revolving door of transfer point guards.