2006s Collins Has Offers, Makes Trip Today

It was easy to find Dwayne Collins in the ABCD camp underclassmen all-star game. The 6-foot-7, 185-pound forward from Miami (Fla.) Senior High School went Ben Wallace, undoing his braids and picking out the camp’s biggest afro. Then he let his game do the talking in the first half. Now he’s reeling in the offers and visits.

“That was the last time I picked it out,” Collins said of his hair antics. “Only for that. Maybe I’ll do it again next year.”

He won’t necessarily need to. He’s attracting attention with braids or a fro. The aggressive Floridian loves to attack the basket on both ends, skying for dunks and snatching rebounds over opponents. One SEC assistant said, “This is 2006’s Korvotney Barber.” Take that as a compliment.

With all of the accolades, the No. 74 ranked player in the class of 2006 said he still needs to prove to himself how good he really became over the summer.

“I think I got a lot better, but I've got to play in a regular old high school game before I know how good I really got,” Collins said. “I’ve been working on my step-back shot out of the post. I got that going. That’s the one thing I’ve been working on all off season more than anything.”

Three programs know how good he can get. Florida, Miami and Wake Forest have offered scholarships, he said. Florida State and South Carolina are also involved. All five schools sent coaches to Miami Senior High during the October evaluation period.

Collins, who was at the thrilling Miami-Louisville game on Thursday night, will be at Florida’s Midnight Madness on Friday night. He’ll be driving north with AAU and high school teammates and close friends Edwin Rios and Jonathan Hall.

“It should be a lot of fun,” Collins said. “We have all been talking about going up there and figured this was a good time to go.”

The trio will be one of the most watched group with Miami Senior this season. The team will play in the Beach Ball Classic at the end of the year.