Every year, there are players expected to hear his name called early in the draft but who fall lower than initially anticipated. One of the players in the 2024 NBA Draft who could deal with such a slide is Isaiah Collier.
While he was projected the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on HoopsHype’s Aggregate Mock Draft as recently as just a few months ago in January, a lot has changed since then. Now, the projections are far lower.
Here is what you need to know: Collier was the Naismith Prep and Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year in high school. He was the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and named Mr. Georgia Basketball. Some recruiting services had him as the top player in the class.
Collier was pretty impressive at some points during an otherwise very disappointing campaign USC. But he especially struggled in December and he suffered from a hand injury that forced him to miss significant time.
He eventually returned to the court and played much better, earning his spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. He averaged 16.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game per game during his one-and-done campaign in the NCAA.
So why do many feel that his draft stock is sliding? Here are some of the latest reports.
Decision-making and shooting
Jonathan Givony (via ESPN): “Collier does have interest from teams in the late lottery, but there are realistic scenarios in which he falls toward the back of the first round. It can be difficult for competitive teams to find minutes for a point guard whose key areas for improvement are decision-making and long-range shooting — logically, Collier might need G League time, particularly if he lands with a playoff-level team.”
Team success
Eastern Conference scout, to David Aldridge (via The Athletic): “Like Whitmore [at Villanova], their team didn’t do well, and there’s not a touchy-feely love story to them. Isaiah’s obviously got a few issues here and there. We all make excuses for the guys we like, and we do the opposite as well. It’s easy to dismiss those guys because of their persona.”
Measurements
Marc J. Spears (via Andscape): “The Trojans listed Collier at 6-feet-5 and 210 pounds on their roster, but at the NBA pre-draft camp, he measured 6-2.5 without shoes, 204 pounds, had a 6-4.75-foot wingspan and a maximum vertical jump of 34 inches. One NBA scout told Andscape that those measurements and shooting questions affected Collier’s draft status. He worked out for eight NBA teams and also turned down several workouts, a source said.”
Other on-court concerns
Raphael Barlowe (via NBA Big Board): “His disappointing start to the season raised concerns about his inconsistent shooting, questionable basketball IQ, and puzzling turnovers.”
Collier still has plenty of upside and self-creation skills and could make a team very happy. But he may just have to wait a bit longer to hear his name than he once hoped.
At BetMGM, the over/under on Collier’s draft position was set at 18.5 and he was +160 to go in the top 20.
