Saint Louis Basketball: 3 takeaways from Billikens big win over NC State
Billikens are tougher to beat when Yuri Collins looks to score
Going into the 2020-21 season, I was fully aware that Saint Louis would be a tough out for any opponent they faced, but in the back of my mind, I wondered how good they could really be if Yuri Collins looked for his shot frequently.
I couldn’t help but go on Saint Louis’ men’s basketball website, see that Collins averaged 22.6 points per game as a senior (and 30 points per game during his team’s postseason run), and proceed to ask myself “why can’t we just get a little taste of what high school Yuri Collins was like?”
I understand that Collins’ job is to distribute the ball to guys like Gibson Jimerson, Javonte Perkins, Jordan Goodwin, and Hasahn French (who are relied on for scoring), but I’ve always said that an occasional drive in transition or in pick-and-roll situations wouldn’t hurt anyone. On Thursday, we all witnessed that when the Billikens’ natural scorers are struggling to put the ball in the basket, Collins is capable of stepping up and picking up the slack offensively.
Collins notched 17 points on 6-11 shooting from the field (54.5%), and 5-6 shooting from the charity stripe (83.3%). Without question, the most impressive part about Collins’ offensive performance against the Wolfpack, was his ability to get into the chest of his opponents, and continue his mission toward the basket.
Last season, Collins would often make contact with his defenders, get stuck, and try to find a Billiken to help him out. While I am not saying that I expected Collins to fall victim to the same issue tonight, I was a little surprised that Collins was so confident in his ability to complete an in-and-out crossover while on the run, take a few meaningful dribbles before using his powerful body, to get a guy like Braxton Beverly to stumble backwards, and then finish the job at the basket.
As many of us know, Collins is a guy that has a clear understanding of how to keep his body in front of defenders as he is coming off ball-screens (without using his off hand to push off and gain an advantage), so that he can stand in place, keep his eyes on the rim, and wait for Hasahn French to roll hard to the basket (after the opposing big has turned his attention toward preventing Collins from driving to the rim).
On Thursday however, Collins demonstrated that he can look out for himself while operating in the pick-and-roll, and take some pressure off of Hasahn French. There were a few times when Collins would temporarily take Braxton Beverly (or another NC State guard) out of a play, wait for Manny Bates to turn his his head or ease up for just a second, and then take the one or two quick dribbles before getting the ball up on the rim.
I think that because Collins was able to extend the ball out in front of him, look behind him to make sure that one of NC State’s guards weren’t trying to knock the ball away from him, and pound the ball as many times as he needed to, while keeping the ball as low as possible, he had multiple opportunities to convert at the rim on Thursday.
Hopefully, Saint Louis’ reliable scorers don’t struggle immensely in first halves moving forward, but if that occurs, don’t be surprised if you see Collins imposing his will offensively (because it is obviously something that he can do).