Frankie Collins Finds Himself Surrounded by More Controversy
Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington hasn’t had many misses when it comes to bringing in players. Guard Frankie Collins continues to make a convincing case for the biggest — a mistake that keeps getting magnified as time goes on.
Collins’ basketball resumé reads more like a mercenary for hire than someone looking to build a program. He began his career at Michigan, then played two productive years at Arizona State before transferring to TCU. His season with the Horned Frogs was cut short after only nine games when Collins broke his foot in December.
Vanderbilt would be Collins’ fourth collegiate stop. He was brought in by Byington to be an additional ballhandler, defender, and someone who could also provide a bit of scoring to complement starting guards Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles. Collins fit that role perfectly to begin the season, as the Commodores went undefeated in the non-conference schedule.
Unfortunately, Collins’ season was derailed by a meniscus tear – coincidentally after playing only nine games – which sidelined him before the conference season. The injury was expected to keep him out for an extended time, but not end his season.
Here is the point at which the Frankie Collins saga started to get messy – a source of annoyance to fans and arguably a distraction to players. After Vandy’s home win over Ole Miss on January 31, Byington’s postgame comments raised some eyebrows.
“Frankie is medically cleared, and we just got to get him going.” Byington said after the win. “So, hopefully this bye week’s the one. But he’s got to push himself and get ready. I know we counted on him. We invested in him. He’s a guy who can really help us win. So hopefully he has the same motivation to get back.”
Wait, what? And with that began weeks of conflicting reports from Byington and Collins about Frankie’s health and the never-ending will-he/won’t-he-play question heading into every game. While this was going on, Collins was publicly selling off personal items on Facebook (more on that in a minute), which only fueled speculation. Much of the Commodore fanbase began to turn on Collins, which included some unpleasant social media exchanges.
Finally, on March 3, coincidentally after Vandy’s second win over Ole Miss, Byington mercifully put the situation to bed.
“Frankie has left Nashville, and he’s not gonna be on the team,” Byington said. “It’s gonna be good for both sides of it. We wish him well. So, we’ll roll with the guys we got.”
In the backdrop of all the on-court drama, Collins continued selling gear online from his time at Michigan, Arizona State, TCU, and Vandy. There were rumblings that Collins had scammed potential patrons, including allegations of double-selling items and of not receiving items after providing payment. It was just hearsay, and nothing really materialized as Collins departed Vandy.
The rumblings became a lot louder Tuesday evening when Dug McDaniel, who played his final college basketball season at Memphis this past year, took to Instagram to put Collins on blast. McDaniel alleged that Collins scammed him out of designer apparel and athletic memorabilia.
“Frankieee scamming people for bread acting like he selling designer n shi just to scam a mf out they bread,” McDaniel said on Instagram. “Done gave dude multiple times to send my bread if u inna Vegas area dm me rq…He done did this shi to hella ppl ik and he think issa game.”
It is worth noting that McDaniel signed at Michigan when Collins was a freshman with the Wolverines, so the two probably have some familiarity with one another.
Shortly after McDaniel’s post, others came out with allegations, including a lengthy video thread on Twitter (X) that was posted with great detail on how Collins was allegedly scamming him.
Even with evidence seemingly piling up, it’s important to note Collins has not publicly provided a detailed response to the allegation, and he has not been charged with a crime. The evidence remains based on statements from alleged buyers and social media comments, so it’s unclear at this point if any legal action will be forthcoming.
Regardless, the optics of the whole situation are obviously not good. Collins has not yet announced his next transfer destination. My advice to that school would be the same as my advice to a potential customer looking to purchase Collins’ merchandise. Buyer beware…
Publisher’s Note:
The Dore Report reached out to Frankie Collins for comment prior to publication but has not received a response. This article will be updated if Collins provides a comment/response.
TDR Hats BACK IN STOCK
Click Here to go to TDR’s all new store
TDR Collabs
NIL Store
Visit Nil.Store/DOREREPORT15 and use code DOREREPORT15 at checkout for 15% off your order
Great NIL gear from your favorite Vanderbilt athletes
Rhoback
Click Here to shop for Vanderbilt gear on Rhoback.com
Use Code VAN20 for 20% off your first order
