Kentucky emerging as favorite for Daimion Collins
Kentucky appears to be gaining momentum for the commitment of five-star forward Daimion Collins, one of the most dynamic forward prospects in the basketball recruiting class of 2021.
Collins -- an athletic 6-foot-10 recruit from Atlanta, Texas -- has narrowed his college choices to UK, Kansas Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, with the Wildcats and Sooners previously seen as the two frontrunners in his recruitment. Oklahoma was generally seen to have the edge with Collins, who plays for Blake Griffin’s travel team and already has ties within the Sooners’ program, but Kentucky has come on strong in recent weeks.
On Friday, top 247Sports recruiting analysts Eric Bossi and Brian Snow both logged predictions in favor of UK on Collins’ Crystal Ball page. New UK staff member Jai Lucas was Collins’ primary recruiter at Texas before leaving the Longhorns’ program for Lexington over the summer, and UK Coach John Calipari and assistant coach Joel Justus have been pursuing Collins since before Lucas’ addition.
Collins is the No. 19 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 10 overall prospect in the country. He averaged 24.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 7.7 blocks per game in his junior season at Atlanta High School.
There is no specific commitment timetable for Collins, though it’s beginning to look more likely that he could make a college decision in time for the early signing period, which is set for Nov. 11-18.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 1:52 PM.
