Gonzaga’s Zach Collins stuffs South Carolina dunk attempt (Video)

Zach Collins is having a big game for the Bulldogs

With senior center Przemek Karnowski back in the locker room after getting poked in the eye, freshman big Zach Collins was called on to fill the void. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that’s no problem for Gonzaga.

Collins is an absolute monster on the interior and he let the country in on that secret late in the first half with this massive stuff:

The 7-foot tall freshman is the first McDonald’s All American to play for Mark Few and Gonzaga directly out of high school (Nigel Williams-Goss, for example, was an All American, but transferred into the program). This season, he’s averaging 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in just 17.2 minutes per game for the Bulldogs. He’s the only player in the country producing at that rate.

Collins is an absolutely ridiculous rim protector for a 19-year old. He’s got great length, quick leaping ability and understands verticality. To put his abilities in perspective, consider that he’s averaging 3.8 blocks per 40 minutes, which is one of the highest marks in college hoops.

Now, Collins is at most three halves of basketball away from making a big decision about his future. On The Step Back’s latest NBA Draft big board, he’s projected as a first round pick with the potential to push himself into the lottery.

Next: Zach Collins could be Gonzaga's game changer

If Collins needs a cautionary tale regarding returning for a sophomore season, he won’t have to look far. Just to the south of Gonzaga, California’s Ivan Rabb chose to return as a potential first round pick last season and his stock cratered after his sophomore campaign as teams struggled to figure out what role he would play at the next level.

Collins is obviously a distinct case and his set of skills is certainly different than Rabb’s, but his block on Saturday showed just one of the reasons he’s so coveted and might do himself a favor by heading to the NBA.