After leading his team to their first conference win of the season, Saint Louis Billikens sophomore guard and Bradley Beal Elite alum Yuri Collins was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Week for the week ending January 2nd.
Yuri Collins is the @A10MBB Player of the Week! Congrats, YC! @smoovYC1 #TeamBlue pic.twitter.com/R4uRTUYoMm
— Saint Louis Men's Basketball (@SaintLouisMBB) January 3, 2022
Yuri posted a career-high of 24 points while shooting an efficient 10-of-17 from the field to go along with his eight assists and six rebounds in a 76-69 Saint Louis victory over Richmond on Sunday.
The win in their A10 opener pushed Saint Louis to 9-4 on the season.
“Our identity is toughness,” Collins said. “Diving on the floor for 50/50 balls and out-rebounding our opponents are all the little things that count for this team.”
The sophomore has been playing at a high level at a critical point in his collegiate career, and Saint Louis’ most recent three games have been something of a revelation for his development.
Back on December 11, Collins recorded an impressive double-double with 14-points and a record-breaking 19 assists in a win over Boston College. In the process, he broke the previous school record of 17 that was held by Jim Roder. His 19 assists are also an NCAA single-game high for the 2021-22 season.
Collins followed up that performance on December 18th with a 13-point, 12 rebounds and 8 assist performance as Saint Louis nearly upset No. 13 Auburn. Due to the winter break, and a late December postponement, that was the Billikens last game until Sunday at Richmond, where Yuri not only hit a new career-high in points, but also a new season-high in the scoring column for Saint Louis.
Hailing from the boroughs of south St. Louis, Collins spent his youth honing his skills with BBE while Collins showcasing his versatile skillset in the Nike EYBL circuit. While with BBE, Yuri demonstrated his playmaking ability by leading the Nike EYBL circuit and ended fourth in assists among prospect guards. He gained offers from DePaul and Iowa, but ultimately stayed home and committed to Saint Louis.
Collins has demonstrated tremendous growth this season and continues to pursue his dream of cracking the NBA while putting Missouri hoopers on the map.
