For Atlanta Hawks rookie John Collins, humility comes naturally.
He’s a kind young man, and self-aggrandizement is not in his genetic code.
That said, you’ll have to excuse what it’s taken for him to fully appreciate the fact he was the 19th overall pick in last month’s NBA Draft, that being him typing his name into a Google search bar.
"When I see myself — 'John Collins the Atlanta Hawks' — saying that and hearing that, hearing myself say that, looking in the mirror, and realizing 'man I made it' is crazy to think about."
"It's going to take me a long time to come to grips with (it), because it's been my dream and I'm here," Collins told the Palm Beach Post.
Collins, a product of South Florida’s Cardinal Newman High School was named Florida’s Class 4A Player of the Year as a senior in 2015.
There was speculation Collins' favorite boyhood team, the Miami Heat, would draft him with the No. 14 pick and bring him back to South Florida. When they didn't, the Hawks grabbed him five spots later and said they were stunned he was still available.
Judging from his play after the Hawks' first four games during the NBA Summer League, it's probably safe to assume he's not the only one who's been Googling his name the past week.
After scoring 25 points and grabbing nine rebounds in Wednesday's 105-95 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, the 6-foot-10 forward ranked third in the league with 10.2 rebounds per game, while averaging 17.5 points per contest on 64.4 percent shooting from the field.
