Meet the 2022-23 Kentucky Wildcats: A more confident Daimion Collins is ready to ignite
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Need to know: Where every Wildcat fits for 2022-23
Meet every member of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team through a series of preseason stories.
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We’re getting to know all 15 of the 2022-23 Kentucky Wildcats. Here is what to expect from one of UK’s potential breakout stars. Watch Kentucky.com for stories about all of the remaining Cats as the preseason unfolds.
Daimion Collins
Uniform number: 4.
Height/weight: 6-9, 210.
Position: Forward.
Class: Sophomore.
Age: 20.
Hometown: Atlanta, Texas.
High school: Atlanta.
Collins’ role in 2022-23: When it was apparent that Collins — a former McDonald’s All-American — would return to Kentucky for a second season, John Calipari projected him as a “cornerstone” of this Wildcats’ roster. He might not even start — Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin project as frontcourt starters, and this UK team is stacked with guards and wings — but Collins can still be an integral piece of Calipari’s larger puzzle. And that’s the expectation in year two.
There were brief flashes last season, but — from the preseason Bahamas trip to UK Pro Day — Collins has shown that he’s a different player this time around. The 6-9 forward with a 7-3 wingspan and ridiculous athleticism — a 46.5-inch vertical at Pro Day — is clearly more comfortable and confident entering this season. He’ll be expected to protect the rim and finish around the basket, but Collins has also displayed shot-making abilities in the midrange and from three.
“He’s getting better. He’s getting more confident. He’s more self-disciplined. He’s doing stuff that he needs to do,” Calipari said recently.
Collins is still thin, and there’s a danger of more physical teams pushing him around, but his unique abilities around the rim and as a 6-9 player who can shoot the ball — and he’s now seemingly comfortable doing it — make him arguably the most intriguing Wildcat going into the season.
This story was originally published October 31, 2022 at 11:00 AM.
