We begin our season recap with the guards.
The TCU Horned Frogs 2024-25 season already feels like a distant memory. The Horned Frogs finished the campaign with a record of 16-16 and 9-11 in the Big 12 Conference. At one point, TCU’s tournament hopes were alive and well, following three straight wins in February, including a 69-66 defeat against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Not long after, TCU’s season began to fall apart. The Horned Frogs lost five of their final six games of the season. The Frogs’ penultimate loss was arguably its worst. The Big 12-worst Colorado Buffaloes downed the Horned Frogs by 20 points ahead of the Big 12 Tournament. In a rematch three days later, the Buffaloes knocked the Horned Frogs out of the conference tournament. Just like that, TCU’s season was over.
The 2024-25 campaign surely was forgettable—a season marred in transition. The roster featured various one-and-done transfers alongside a hoard of freshmen. Center Ernest Udeh Jr. was the sole returnee. Before discussing each grouping too far in-depth, we’ll begin our season recap with arguably TCU’s best positional grouping, the guards.
Position Review: Guards
Vasean Allette
To kick off the recap is former Old Dominion guard Vasean Allette. Allette caught Coach Jamie Dixon’s eye in 2023 when he went off for 25 points in a loss to TCU at the Diamond Head Classic. The combo guard was later dismissed from his former school before deciding to enter the transfer portal and make his way to join Dixon in Fort Worth. Upon arriving at TCU, Allette started the season as the Horned Frogs’ sixth man. He filled the role well, scoring 34 points across TCU’s first two games of the season.
However, a lack of opportunity plagued Allette as he began a stretch of single-digit scoring performances. Then, an injury to starter Frankie Collins thrust the Canadian guard into the starting lineup. Allette appeared in every contest, starting 25. He averaged 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. The 6-foot-2 combo guard shot 37.5 percent from the floor, 22.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 71.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Allette’s high-volume scoring ability stood out from the season opener. Nonetheless, his strides as a decision-maker and pick-and-roll operator must not be overlooked. Allette recorded at least two assists in all but one conference affair. All in all, the sophomore guard’s best trait was his isolation scoring. Whenever the Horned Frogs’ offense stalled (which occurred far too often), Dixon would rely on Allette to get a basket. The shifty guard excelled at getting to his spots and scoring in a myriad of ways. From turnaround jumpers to nifty floaters and push shots, Allette’s offensive arsenal was deep.
While Allette proved to be a versatile scorer, he was wildly inefficient. Allette’s 37.5 conversion rate ranked second-to-last among rotation regulars. The combo guard also paced TCU in turnovers—averaging nearly three per game, 2.9. Defensively, Allette didn’t necessarily stand out. However, he was a strong rebounder. Allette averaged 3.1 defensive rebounds per game despite standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 190 pounds. Like his offensive playmaking, Allette’s defensive playmaking improved as the season progressed. He finished the year averaging 1.3 steals per game. For what it’s worth, the former Monarch averaged 2.2 steals over his final five appearances.
Grade: B-
Frankie Collins
Former Michigan and Arizona State guard Frankie Collins was arguably TCU’s most highly-regarded transfer as a four-star recruit out of high school. The 6-foot-2 guard immediately stepped into the starting floor general role in Dixon’s uptempo offense. Collins’ well-rounded game was apparent from day one. Collins contributed 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in TCU’s first contest of the season. Unfortunately, a foot injury limited the senior guard to nine games.
Collins averaged 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals through nine games. Collins’s athleticism and playmaking were his best attributes. The point guard’s emphatic dunk against his former squad was one of the Horned Frogs’ best highlights all season. Collins’s offensive limitations were obvious in his short time suiting up for the Frogs. The soon-to-be former TCU guard struggled to shoot from the outside, converting only 6-of-23 three-point attempts. Nevertheless, losing Collins a month before Big 12 play was TCU’s biggest what-if. A backcourt trio consisting of Allette, Collins, and Noah Reynolds would have been of the Big 12’s best.
Grade: Incomplete
Jace Posey
One of the aforementioned freshmen, Jace Posey was one of two players to redshirt a season ago. Posey’s first collegiate appearance came in the Horned Frogs’ season opener. He scored 11 points and knocked down three triples. However, it took the swingman three months to earn consistent playing time. Posey appeared in garbage time through the first month of conference play before a breakout performance against Arizona State solidified his spot in Dixon’s rotation. Posey scored a career-high 20 points, converting 8-of-10 free throws in the four-point victory. The redshirt freshman played in at least 15 minutes thereafter.
The athletic guard averaged 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 0.5 steals in 31 appearances, including three starts. Posey shot 42.1 percent from the floor, 27.8 percent from three-point range, and 53.1 percent from the free throw line. If a team-wide best athlete award was given, it’d go to Posey. The high jumper averaged nearly as many offensive rebounds (1.0) as defensive (1.3). Posey’s offensive game was rough around the edges. He didn’t provide much if any shotmaking or playmaking—relying on spot-ups, cuts, and transition opportunities to score. The Houston native converted merely 10-of-36 three-point attempts. On the bright side, his confidence in his shooting stroke improved tremendously throughout the season.
Still, Posey’s potential trumps his on-court contributions. His defensive potential is through the roof, but he has yet to put it together. The 6-foot-6 guard is a terrific athlete who competes relentlessly, thus his defensive awareness should come, in time. Posey’s next step in his maturation is diversifying his offensive repertoire. He’s shown glimpses of elite driving ability yet he lacks off-the-dribble creativity to routinely beat defenders.
Grade: C+
Noah Reynolds
Reynolds was the most consistent Horned Frog and arguably the most important. The lefty floor general came to TCU by way of Wyoming and Green Bay. Although he started the season slowly, he turned it up once the level of competition heightened. Nearly all Reynolds’ season-highs came against Big 12 foes. The senior guard dropped a TCU career-high 23 points in the Frogs’ Big 12 opener versus Arizona. Reynolds scored in double-figures in 16 of 21 conference matchups.
Through 31 appearances, Reynolds averaged 12.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 0.7 steals per game. The 6-foot-3 point guard shot 42.7 percent from the floor, 34.1 percent from long range, and 74.5 percent from the charity stripe. Reynolds led the Horned Frogs in minutes and points. He was at his best in late-game scenarios. While Allette offered the best iso skillset, Reynolds offered the most unstoppable move. The lefty point guard was borderline automatic when driving left. He has a silky-smooth pull-up jumper and an un-guardable left-handed layup/floater. The senior scored the late-game, go-ahead bucket against Kansas State, and BYU. He assisted Brendan Wenzel’s go-ahead three-pointer versus Baylor and scored the final five points in regulation to knock off Texas Tech.
Reynolds’ offense was easily his best attribute. The former Cowboy wasn’t an overly impressive playmaker, but he did dish out six-plus assists on five occasions. Reynolds preferred to score in the mid-range, and going to his left. He led the Frogs in three-point makes, yet he primarily took three-pointers when left open, or in rhythm off-the-dribble.
At 6-foot-3 (if that), Reynolds struggled on the defensive end. He’s not the best athlete, which limited the senior defensively. Reynolds’ steal, block, and defensive rebounding percentages were the worst among TCU’s regulars, while his defensive box plus/minus ranked second-to-last. The point guard’s defensive metrics would have likely been better if he suited up next to a lankier, or more defensive-minded two-guard instead of Allette.
Grade: B
Spoiler alert, the guards were TCU’s best position grouping. Allette and Reynolds were two of the three most valuable Horned Frogs. Without either guard, TCU’s conference-worst offense would have been a catastrophe. The two-point guards were the only Frogs who could consistently create offense. With Allette hitting the transfer portal and Reynolds likely on his way out, Posey will be the lone returning guard with experience. He’ll be joined by portal additions Brock Harding and Jayden Pierre, and redshirt players Ashton Simmons and RJ Jones.
Cumulative Grade: B-