USC Basketball: Why Isaiah Collier Believes He Deserves to Be No. 1 Draft Pick

An up-and-down freshman season tanked his draft stock, but he's ready to meet the NBA moment.

Mar 13, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USC Trojans guard Isaiah Collier (1) dribbles between Washington Huskies center Braxton Meah (34) and forward Keion Brooks Jr. (1) during the second half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

It might be easy to forget now, following a, well, forgettable one-and-done freshman season with the USC Trojans, but combo guard Isaiah Collier was once the No. 1 recruit from among his high school class, and considered a potential top lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Following an injury-addled freshman season on a 15-18 Cardinal and Gold club that missed the NCAA Tournament, the 6-foot-5 All-Pac-12 Freshman Teamer still needs to rehabilitate his image in the eyes of league scouts. But he's nothing if not confident, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"I feel like I’m still one of the best players in this draft," Collier declared. "The jump shot didn’t fall as well as I wanted to in college, but I feel like I’ve been working. The shot has been evolving and I’m continuing to work on it.”

“Wherever I go, I just hope it’s the right situation. I’m just going in there trying to do anything to win.”

Collier averaged 16.3 points on .490/.338/.673 shooting splits, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals a night.

“Just having that IQ since I was a young age, just seeing the floor differently from a PG perspective,” Collier noted. “It’s always been great for me and an advantage for me.”

Midway through the year, Collier broke broke his right hand and was sidelined for four weeks. Upon returning, he did look better, averaging 17.6 points and 4.5 assists (against 2.8 turnovers) across his last 11 contests. He also converted 37.5 percent of his triple tries in that span.

“I feel like the second half of my season when I came back from post injury was the person I should have been all year,” he said. “I mean people might question that, but I feel like that’s who I am. I get on myself about that a lot. I should have been [that] all year, but it is what it is.“It’s going to show.”Keith Pompey

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