What Diana Collins' commitment means for Kentucky WBB

Diana Collins became the second transfer portal commitment for Kentucky this offseason on Tuesday. The 5-foot-9 guard is heading into her senior season, and she has proven that she can perform at a high level against some of the best teams in the country. That will be invaluable for Kenny Brooks and Kentucky. Knowing that, KSR takes a look at what Collins’ commitment means for Kentucky.

Collins bring even more SEC experience to Kentucky

Collins started in all 35 games of Alabama’s games this season, averaging 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as a junior. Kentucky’s roster will be rather young next season compared to this past year’s group, so having someone like Collins who has been there and done that in the SEC is a major plus.

Assuming she returns, Asia Boone would have been Kentucky’s lone veteran presence in the backcourt, but the addition of Collins adds to the weapons that will be surrounding five-star point guard Maddyn Greenway. She could also help Savvy Swords and Emily McDonald transition to the college game, which would obviously be a great help for the next several years.

Three-point shooting when it matters most

Along with those averages, Collins shot 45.8% from the field and 39.8% from three-point range on 2.9 attempts per game from beyond the arc. Whether her shooting volume should increase, decrease or stay the same is most likely unclear at the moment considering the roster isn’t finalized, but it’s hard not to get excited about a player who would have been the best three-point shooter on the team last season percentage-wise.

She also seems to show up in some of the biggest moments as well. In two games in the NCAA Tournament, she went 4-6 from three and went 3-5 from deep against Missouri in the SEC Tournament. In those three games, she shot a combined 17-24 (71%) from the field overall. Pretty good, eh?

The backcourt is absolutely loaded

Plus, as hinted at in the first point, Kentucky’s backcourt is now absolutely loaded. All three of the incoming McDonald’s All-Americans are guards, Boone is a guard, Dominika Paurová is a guard and so is Collins. That’s a lot of backcourt pieces, especially when compared to the frontcourt, which just consists of Ayanna Patterson and Clara Strack at the moment.

It’ll be a real battle to see who can earn the most minutes at the guard spots, but having tons of high-level talent is certainly better than not having it. Collins adds to that and should be a pivotal piece of next year’s team.

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