Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Cannon Casey at cannon.casey@colorado.edu.
As I mentioned in last week’s column, Dom Collier is going to develop into something special this year.
Right now, George King is overshadowing everyone with his spectacular play but Collier is quietly putting together an improved season.
It’s a small sample size with only two games, but he is much more involved on the floor. Last year, he didn’t look confident. This year, he’s getting back to the confidence of a kid who won two state titles, Gatorade Player of the Year, Denver Post’s Mr. Colorado Basketball twice, an All-American honorable mention and more.
Looking at field goal percentage and free throw percentage isn’t very relevant this early in the season – they’ll average out over the season. What we can look at is that Collier is averaging more assists per game and shooting much more often this season compared to last. That shows an increase in confidence and comfort on the floor and with his role on this Colorado team. It also speaks to the involvement mentioned earlier.
He is averaging almost three more assists per game than last season from one-and-a-half to four. He’s also attempting three more shots per game compared to last year, and it’s translating with his performance. Collier’s 10.4 points per game are third on the team behind King and Josh Scott, and radically different than his 4.7 points per game last year (7th).
What stands out about Collier so far this season is that he actually had a better game against No. 7 Iowa State than he did against Auburn. Great players play well on big stages. He had 13 points and shot almost 60 percent from the field against a top 10 team. That speaks to the kind of player that Collier can and will be for Colorado in the future.
And the future isn’t too far away for the sophomore point guard. He’s a pass first player, and that’s showing with the fact that he has almost a third of the assists for the Buffs this year.
The ceiling with Collier is incredibly high. The opportunity to watch him play in high school first hand proved to me how good this kid is. I watched in awe as he balled out in the Colorado basketball state playoffs. In 2014, I watched Collier steamroll Fairview on his way to his second state championship in his prep career.
He’s got ball handling skills and instinct. Comfort and confidence will grow as the season – and Collier’s career – goes on.
Collier is just getting started, watch out.
