NBA Draft Profile- Isaiah Collier

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Today’s Spotlight - USC, Point Guard, Isaiah Collier

Name- Isaiah Collier

Pos- Point Guard

Team- USC

HT/WT- 6’5” 210 lbs

Born- 10/8/2004

Home – Atlanta, GA

Collier grew up in Marietta, Georgia and attended Wheeler High School. He averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals per game as a junior. Following his junior season, he played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. He suffered a meniscus injury in his knee during the summer, but returned to be the MVP of the Curry Camp. Collier had a huge senior year, averaging 19.6 points and 6.8 assists per game and was selected to the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game and Team USA. Collier was considered a consensus 5-star recruit and one of the top prospects in the class. He was rated the No.1 overall prospect by both ESPN and Rivals. He committed to USC over offers from Cincinnati, Michigan and UCLA.

This season, Collier played in 27 games and averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists per game for the Trojans.

Collier is an extremely smart player and can take over games and/or carry an offense when needed. He can create shots off the dribble and loves to explode towards the rim. He has a solid frame and will bully most point guards in the NBA with his size and explosiveness. He is instinctive and knows how to draw fouls, and he will be a handful for a smaller point guard to contain. He is an effective facilitator, who seems to do his best work off of pick and rolls and he’s able to see the court well and makes proper reads and passes when being pressured. He is a patient floor leader who lets the plays develop and can beat you off the dribble in several different ways.

On the downside, Collier is not a real diverse scorer. He rarely settles for a jump shot or outside shot, instead he’s insistant on driving to the rim. He goes out of his way to look for contact instead of taking the easy two shots at the foul line. He also will get vocal on non calls as the game goes on and can lose his edge. For a guy who does draw a lot of fouls, he needs to work on his FT %. He has normally been below 70% in his career, but is 80.6% so far with the Trojans after 4 games. Though he can bully other guards on the boards, it has yet to be seen how he does defending quicker playmakers off the dribble. He has the ability to hit an occasional 3-pointer, but is not a confident long distance shooter. All in all, he is a streaky shooter from outside the foul line.

Collier’s pro comparison may be best described as a mix between Anthony Edwards and Chris Paul, which should scare a lot of players in the league. He has the explosiveness of Edwards getting to the rim, with the patience of Paul running a halfcourt set. If he continues to improve his jump shot, he can become a perennial all-star in the NBA.

Strengths

• Explosion to the rim
• Patience running offense
• Draws fould
• Off the dribble creation

Weaknesses

• Jump Shot
• Foul shooting
• Defense off the dribble
• Looks for contact

Final Analysis

The No. 1 college recruit is off to a solid start at USC and a big season for the Trojans will throw him in that No. 1 pick overall discussion. He can become a generational point guard for a team for a decade or more, and if he gains confidence in his outside shot, the NBA world may be in trouble.

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