The NBA draft did not turn out as Isaiah Collier or anyone at USC hoped it would. Collier, who began the past college basketball season as a projected top-10 pick with top-five potential, was still seen as a top-20 pick in the middle of May right after the NBA draft lottery. As recently as two weeks ago, he was still receiving NBA draft projections in the back end of the top 20. Toronto at No. 19 was a mock draft projection. The Lakers at 17 were mentioned as a projection. The Sixers had a look at him and owned the No. 16 pick. Collier still had reason to believe he would be a top-20 pick. In the end, Collier plummeted all the way to 29 and the Utah Jazz. He barely avoided falling all the way out of the first round. It’s not what he wanted.
One NBA scout explained why Collier fell. He didn’t pull punches:
“If he could shoot, he’d be a top-5 pick. You’re betting on him on being a worker, which he is going to be,” the NBA scout told Andscape. “Everybody talks about his [great] work ethic. If he continues to come in and works and works on his shooting, he is going to be a really good pro. He can get into the paint with the best of them. He passes the ball all over the floor. He’s unselfish. He can get into the paint and throw floaters and finish. But it’s the shooting thing. In the league, people are going to back off of him. And he won’t be able to drive and get to the rim easily. Plus, his size, he’s not as big as everyone thought.
This scout followed up with one important point, though: He thinks Collier will be persistent in working hard to address this and other flaws in his game.
“But I like him. If you look at history, he won three straight championships in high school and started all four years. He’s used to being the guy. He’s used to having the target on his back. He will be fine in this league with all of the space they play with, [where you] can’t hand check. He’ll be fine and be able to be a good player. He just has to develop his shot. And it’s not like his shot is broken. He’s a willing shooter. He will take the shots he’s supposed to take.”
We will soon see — probably in the NBA summer league — what Isaiah Collier is made of.
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