Michigan PG Frankie Collins Has Entered The Transfer Portal

I’m disappointed by this. Frankie Collins seemed poised to take the next step for U-M. He played some solid basketball down the stretch a year ago and would likely be featured heavily in the main rotation in 2023. Michigan yesterday added Princeton transfer guard Jaelin Llewellyn, but that doesn’t feel like a reason for Frankie Collins to leave the program the next day. I can’t claim to know what these guys are thinking. The one thing I can claim to know is that this is not the end of the line for Michigan regarding roster turnover for next season. They currently have two players (Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabte) who will be testing the NBA water. We’ll see whether they return or not, and there are rumors of other players potentially entering the portal.

Juwan Howard has been incredibly active on the recruiting trail in his three seasons at Michigan, and he’s been busy in the transfer portal. He’s put together two top ten recruiting classes. I’ll never criticize someone for bringing in talent. The one issue with bringing in four and five-star guys is that those guys want to play right away. They don’t want to wait behind anyone, especially for multiple years. Juwan Howard doesn’t seem like a coach who guarantees players playing time when they get to campus, and while losing a talented player like Frankie Collins to the portal is a disappointment, this is not uncharted territory for Michigan. Juwan Howard’s program has featured a different starting point guard in his first three seasons and U-M, including two (Mike Smith and Devante Jones) that came from the portal. 

My theory is that Michigan knows they likely only have one more year of Hunter Dickinson. Juwan and company are doing all they can to build a solid team around him for next season, and if that means letting a few guys walk, that’s just the landscape of college basketball. I would start to get concerned if Michigan loses anyone else to the portal. Michigan lacked depth at many points a season ago, and while this upcoming recruiting class is showing a lot of promise, Michigan will need experience both in the starting lineup and on the bench. Losing Frankie does cut into your depth. Hopefully, more dominos don’t fall, though I’m worried they will.