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NBA makes final decision on Isaiah Collier’s presence in Green Room

NBA makes final decision on Isaiah Collier’s presence in Green Room

With the 2024 NBA Draft less than two weeks away, many basketball players in the pipeline are about to see their dreams come true.

One of those athletes is Isaiah Collier – USC’s much-hyped guard. The freshman ended up entering the draft after a decent season in which he averaged 16.3 PPG, 4.3 APG and 1.5 SPG on 49 percent from the field.

The question loomed as to whether Collier would get an invitation to attend the draft in the famous green room. Normally, the league invites prospects and their families to attend the event in person assuming they will be surefire first-round picks.

Collier’s draft stock has been a bit volatile – although conventional wisdom suggests he will always be selected in the first round. As Jonathan Givony reports, it seems most NBA franchises think highly of Collier.

The ESPN reporter revealed that Collier received an invitation to travel to Brooklyn on June 26.

Collier has several traits that should translate well to the NBA. On the one hand, he has great size for the point guard position. He has an imposing and muscular figure to combat the physical rigors of the sport. Collier has good feel as a passer, and athletically, he likely won’t be overwhelmed by the quickness and speed he sees.

Although he is not a comparable player, he has some similarities to former NBA player Deron Williams. Collier will need to improve his three-point efficiency (33.8 percent last year). He also averaged 3.3 turnovers per game for the Trojans. Being able to take care of the basketball will be imperative if Collier wants to play significant minutes as a rookie.

Collier was among the top prep prospects for his class entering college. USC wasn’t exactly a stable environment last year. Collier had to compete with veteran Boogie Ellis for hits and shots. A plethora of injuries decimated USC’s season early in the season and the team as a whole was very disjointed.

There is a world in which Collier can realize the immense potential he had coming out of Atlanta. It will take the right fit – although there is a lot to do.

USC: USC Basketball: Eric Musselman evaluates Trojans roster, recognizes 2 weaknesses