USC freshman guard Isaiah Collier has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, he told ESPN on Wednesday. Collier is projected to be a lottery pick in The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft.
Collier, a five-star high school prospect, averaged 16.3 points, a team-high 4.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds on 33.8 percent shooting from 3-point range over 27 games for the Trojans. He was also named to the 2023-24 Pac-12 All-Freshman team.
He started the season on fire and looked like a candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. He tailed off as USC fell apart, struggling with turnovers and defense before hurting his wrist and missing time.
Once he returned, he took the Pac-12 by storm. As the Trojans closed the season as one of the better teams in the Pac-12, Collier averaged 18.7 points and 4.3 assists in his final seven games while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 35.7 from 3.
USC went 15-18 (14-13 with Collier), finished ninth in the Pac-12 and missed the NCAA Tournament.
What is Collier’s game?
Collier is an explosive, physical guard who can push tempo and get into the paint at will due to his strength and first step. Because of that strength, he can attack the rim and finish at a high level, using his power to maintain his balance through contact.
Then on top of it, the skill he didn’t get to show as much this year due to the team around him is his passing. His assist numbers underrate that part of his game, as he’s capable of hitting sharp dump-offs around the rim as well as kickouts.
The concerns are two-fold. Collier is still developing as a shooter from distance. That will likely be the swing skill of his game. Can he consistently hit pull-ups? Can he make shots off the catch regularly? If he does, he’ll be a starting point guard. If he doesn’t, then he might be more of a backup.
Second, he needs to improve defensively. His hips are quite tight and he struggles to drop to stay in front of his man. He got blown by a bit more often than you’d hope for someone of his length and athleticism.
What is Collier’s draft range?
Right now, Collier seems mostly likely to be taken somewhere in the No. 7 to No. 20 range, depending on how he performs in the pre-draft process in front of teams who want to learn more about how he accepted this difficult season, and want to get a closer look at his shot.
He’s currently ranked No. 14 on my board.
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(Photo: David Becker / Getty Images)
