USC Basketball: Isaiah Collier Falls Out of Lottery in New Mock Draft

The Trojans' top-rated prospect this year had an underwhelming one-and-done NCAA season.

Mar 14, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Isaiah Collier (1) and Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (2) react to a non-call during the first half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Now-former USC Trojans guard Isaiah Collier was the top prospect coming out of his high school class in 2023. Seen as a strong, athletic downhill guard, he was considered an early contender to be an easy top-10 lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Following USC's 15-18 2023 season run, and some questionable three point and foul shooting from Collier, he's seen his draft prospects take a dip.

In a fresh (ish) mock draft via Andy Patton of College Sports Wire, Collier topples out of the lottery (the first 14 draft selections) entirely. Patton projects that Collier will be drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 17, a pick obtained from their 2019 trade that sent Anthon Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. In this scenario, New Orleans would add this pick and thus opt out of L.A.'s 2025 first rounder.

"C.J. McCollum has historically been a shooting guard, but he’s playing point for New Orleans right now," Patton writes. "Collier fell well out of the picture as the potential top pick in this class, but the upside is still very high for the uber-athletic guard. A PG needy team such as the Pelicans might find the risk worth it especially outside the lottery."

The Pac-12 All-Freshman averaged 16.3 points on a .490/.338/.673 slash line, 4.3 dimes and 2.9 boards across 27 contests, in an injury-abbreviated one-and-done NCAA season.

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