Mason Brings in 2025 PG Michael Collins for an Official Visit

Your George Mason Patriots are bringing in 6’2 2025 PG Mike Collins for an official visit today. Collins is going to Shadow Creek High School, a public school in Pearland, Texas, south of Houston.

2025 6’2 PG Michael Collins is taking his official visit with George Mason today. @Cant_guardmike_ @SCSharkBball pic.twitter.com/9K6qji23Yb

— George Mason Recruiting (@GMURecruiting) August 1, 2024

Michael has offers from Mason, Texas Southern, Lamar, Jackson St., Grambling St., Arizona St., Penn St., and UMass, while also taking an unofficial visit to Texas A&M. Collins is a three-star on 247, rated as an 86. He was also named the 4^th best 2025 prospect in the Greater Houston Area by @GHAHoops.

Seeing UMass on his offer list is fitting, as Frank Martin tends to go after hard-nosed defenders.

Former assistant Mike Ekanem was originally the recruiter on the Texas PG, and after he moved on to Stillwater, it seems like the staff liked Collins enough that they felt the need to get back on him with another assistant.

I was unable to find Mike’s exact stats for his 2023-24 high school season, but his Shadow Creek Sharks went 31-3 and he was named District 23-6A MVP, so clearly Collins did pretty well. Per Jon Poorman of the Houston Chronicle, he averaged more than 20 points per game.

The Houston-area PG plays for Houston Hoops, the same EYBL team Justin Begg played for, although I do not think there was any overlap. Mike averaged 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 44.8% shooting from the field and 93.3% from the line during this year’s Peach Jam in only 17.4 minutes per game. He only shot 2-11 from three, which isn’t good, but it is a low sample size. I imagine if Collins was given more than five games, that percentage would’ve eventually gotten somewhere in the 30s.

Like I said earlier, I cannot find his stats for 2023-24, but I did find his 2022-23 stats, where he shot 31% from three as a sophomore. That 93.3% from the line during Peach Jam is very encouraging for his three-point development, as players who shoot well from the line generally can translate that to threes, especially guards.

What is Mike Collins’ Game?

Collins has a nice stepback three that creates a lot of separation. He can hit threes from college range, though his form is a bit unorthodox. The PG has a very wide base on his shot, but everything from the waist up looks pretty normal.

It seems like Mike recently developed a pull-up game, which is something you want your guards to be able to do. He’s able to create for himself, especially if a big gets switched onto him.

Collins is very good at dribble-driving and kicking out. If he doesn’t kick out, the 6’2 guard is good at hitting contested layups. Mike has decent bounce. Not head-at-the-rim, but good enough, and combined with his long arms, he is able to dunk pretty easily.

I couldn’t find any measurements on his wingspan, but in a couple of clips Collins extends his arms sideways, and they look a couple inches longer than they should be. I would guess it’s 6’5 or longer.

Take a look at his game for yourself.

🚨2024 Guy V. Lewis Award Top 10 Finalists

Michael Collins (@Cant_guardmike_)
6'2 PG | @SCSharkBball | 2025@guyvlewisaward @TheHRReview @RcsSports @djones8301 pic.twitter.com/ut7Fmjh4vx

— 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕚𝕝𝕞𝕤 SPORTS 🎥 (@4YFilms) March 31, 2024

I watched a couple minutes from Shadow Creek’s game against Pearland High School to see what his defense looks like. It is aggressive.

Collins hounded a guy coming down the court, who then passed it out of bounds. I have to imagine he was partially responsible for that.

Mike seemed to be Shadow Creek’s point-of-attack defender, excelling at mirroring his opponent’s movements. It did seem like he was a better on-ball defender than off-ball, but that isn’t uncommon for a guard who’s only 17. This is a Tony Skinn guy.

If I were to give a comparison for Mike Collins, it would be similar to Baraka Okojie, but take away a little bit of Okojie’s race to the rim/foul-drawing ability and put it into shooting. This is more of a stylistic comparison, as it would be unfair to expect him to come in and instantly be a difference-maker like Okojie was.

Where Would He Fit In?

If Collins came to Mason, he would likely be behind Jeremiah Quigley and Justin Begg at point guard, with Quigley being a junior and Begg being a sophomore at that point.

His best bet at early playing time would probably be being brought in as a second point guard against press-heavy teams, similar to how Mason used Tre Wood. I could also see him being used early on as a defender if a team has two scoring guards that both need plus defenders on them, like La Salle last year with Brickus and Brantley, or St. Joe’s with Erik Reynolds and Xzayvier Brown this year.

Overall, Mike Collins would be a great addition to the team, giving Skinn more flexibility in what he can do with the press, along with having another guard who can pressure the rim.