The green trim on Zyree Collins' uniform is appropriate.Â
Read about the St. Louis area's top high school boys basketball players and their accomplishments throughout the 2023-24 season.
Collins has the propensity to transform into whatever is needed for the team on the basketball court. The 6-foot St. Mary's junior guard's ability to adjust wouldn't be out of place for a chameleon.Â
Opponents committed solely on defending Collins' scoring prowess have been burned by his ability to find the open man or rip down rebounds like a big despite his 6-foot height.
"Those who don't know basketball or see Zyree for the first time, you may judge him from that game," said Yuri Collins, Zyree's older brother who graduated from St. Mary's in 2019 after a decorated career, stood out at St. Louis University and played professionally this season in the NBA G League for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
"Me being around him my whole life, I've seen him and can adapt and adjust to any situation he's in."
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While Zyree's abilities can shift in and out of whatever is needed at the time like a color-shifting reptile, this season he's attacked scoreboards like a fire-breathing lizard of myth.Â
Apt for a St. Mary's Dragon.Â
"You look up and this guy was giving everyone 30-40 points on a consistent night," St. Mary's coach Bryan Turner said. "We always knew he could do that, but he kind of turned it up and he raised everyone's level of play."
The Post-Dispatch All-Metro boys basketball player of the year, Zyree Collins delivered in every way every time he stepped on the court.
Collins led the area in scoring with an average of 31.5 points per game. His 851 points in 27 games were the most points scored in a single season since Whitfield's Torrence Watson had 893 in 2018. Collins scored 30 or more points 13 times this year, topping the 40-point plateau four separate times including a career high of 46 twice.Â
A Missouri Gatorade player of the year finalist, Collins was voted the Class 5 player of the year by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. He set a plethora of St. Mary's scoring records, including career points (1,912), career field goals made (673), most points in a season (851) and most field goals made in a single season (303).
But Collins did plenty more than score. He also led St. Mary's with averages of 6.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.4 steals.Â
The Dragons junior would trade all those stats away in a heartbeat if it meant he could have a redo of the Class 5 District 2 title game March 5 against Vianney. The Dragons led by double digits at at halftime before falling 80-73.
"We gave it our all, and we just fell short," Collins said, who scored a team-high 27 points. "We have to live with that. We were disappointed for sure. We felt like that should have been us going home with the district title. It is what it is."
Collins scored 23 points in the first half but was held to just four points in the second half as Vianney surged past the Dragons.
The Griffins went on to finish third in the state tournament.
"He felt like he left a lot on the table," Turner said. "To have a half that he had, and then not be able to have the same type of half in the second half, that was the only game throughout the year where everyone saw him kind of run out of gas."
Turner kept the Dragons on the court while the Griffins celebrated. He saw the fire Collins would normally breathe on opponents build in his eyes.Â
Days after the season-ending loss, Turner saw Collins in the weight room preparing for his senior season.
"I saw him lock himself in the weight room to train a little bit harder to go harder in the summer and spring season with renewed focus," Turner said. "I think this will be the start of looking, 'I have to get some stuff done before I leave.' One thing we haven't done is win the state championship. That's at the forefront of his mind."
Having an older brother who blazed the path before him helps provide a unique insight for Zyree.Â
Yuri Collins led the Dragons to a Class 4 state tournament runner-up finish in 2019, the program's best showing. he was named to the Post-Dispatch All-Decade team in 2020.
"As his brother, that's my job," Yuri said. "I go through all the trials and tribulations so that his path is a little easier. We kind of have similar journeys where a lot of people overlooked us, or maybe people didn't think we're as good as we really were."Â Â
At SLU, Yuri holds numerous program records including the single-game assists (20), season assists (304) and career assists 878, which also ranks in the top 25 in NCAA history.
While he didn't get a chance to take in his little brother's games in person this year while playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors, Yuri kept up through highlight reels and YouTube streams.
And Zyree Collins' biggest fan is ready to come home and help him get better. Santa Cruz's season ended in the G League conference semifinals last week.
"He tells me about the things I'm slacking on," Zyree Collins said. "He makes me better when we go to the gym. We work on the things I need to work on, so he definitely prepares me."
One of the things Zyree said he wants to work on in the offseason is his change of pace. Whether that's his dribble or how he controls the offense, he wants to add to his repertoire.
Going into this season, there were questions about whether St. Mary's would stay open long enough for the Dragons to show off their skills. But those questions never entered Zyree's or his teammates' minds.
"(Coach) always tells us to control the things we can control and if we can't control it, there's nothing to worry about, just let people do what they can do," Collins said. "I never had doubts. I knew we were strong enough to keep it open."
Good thing, too.
Zyree Collins wants to finish his legacy with the "Southside" moniker emblazoned on his chest next year.
"My goal is to win the state championship," Collins said. "I have to go out with a bang. I'd trade everything for a state title."
Read about the St. Louis area's top high school boys basketball players and their accomplishments throughout the 2023-24 season.