INTEL: Ranking the contenders for 5-star Isaiah Collier

On3 bet early on five-star Isaiah Collier, naming him the best point guard in the 2023 class a couple of months ago. Betting on Collier has paid off as he has since been named the MVP of the Steph Curry camp and the UAA Next Elite 24.

Collier is the 2023 On3 Consensus No. 2 player. He missed a good chunk of the summer, from May through July, with an injury.

In his eight EYBL Circuit games with The Skill Factory, Collier averaged 15.1-points, 6.0-assists, 4.4-rebounds, and 1.4-steals. He was second on the circuit in assists, but his shooting stood out. The strong-framed point guard was shooting 52.5-percent from the field and a staggering 44.8-percent from three on 3.6-attempts per game.

Collier told On3 in July he was down to four schools, Michigan, UCLA, Southern California, and Cincinnati. He tweeted out that he will announce soon, but no specific date has been given. The five-star has visited all four programs.

With each school seemingly on even ground, let’s break down the intel to see where Collier is going. Just a reminder, recruiting is a very fluid process with a lot of moving pieces that can change at a moment’s notice. Here is a snapshot as things wind down.

**Read why On3 bet on Isaiah Collier as the No. 1 PG in the class

Isaiah Collier stole the show & took home MVP of the UA Next Elite 24! @isaiahcollier04 @UANextBHoops pic.twitter.com/5A1F0a2geW

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) August 13, 2022

1. Southern California

Andy Enfield is looking to bring Dunk City to Los Angeles. On the visit, Collier says he got a chance to watch the system and how he fits; he also got to see the number of pros the Trojans have produced.

Enfield and his entire staff have been very active with Collier, making him and teammate Arrinten Page priorities.

USC’s chances: 75 percent

2. Michigan

Michigan made a big push with their visit. Collier got to see the system, the bigs that would be around him, and the ‘pro-style’ the guards’ play. Head coach Juwan Howard played in the NBA for nineteen years and coached for six; he has obvious NBA ties. The Wolverine staff has made a push to show Collier he is their guy; Collier is the only point guard Michigan has offered in the 2023 class.

Michigan’s chances: 15 percent

3. Cincinnati

The January unofficial visit is what put Cincinnati in the mix. The vibe Collier got on campus and the fans, Collier has consistently mentioned the fan base with the Bearcats. Head coach Wes Miller and staff poured a lot into this recruitment, burning up the road to be in Marietta, Georgia, and see Collier and teammate Arrinten Page as much as the rules would allow.

Cincinnati’s chances: 5 percent

4. UCLA

UCLA is in California, which played a role. Collier also talked about looking up on their campus and seeing all the banners and retired jerseys. The prestige and history of the program made an impression.

UCLA’s chances: 5 percent

Final thoughts

Behind closed doors, Southern California has long been the presumed leader. Collier has family out west and spends a lot of time in California. His mom is from California. However, Michigan made a big push on his visit.

Andy Enfield is looking to bring Dunk City back. Enfield made Dunk City famous at Florida Gulf Coast in 2012-13 when they became the first 15 seed to make a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Collier is a central figure in the style and system Enfield wants to run, and he has made this abundantly clear to Collier.

Southern California is also recruiting Collier’s teammate Arrinten Page. Of these four schools, only two made Page’s final list, Cincinnati and Southern California, and not Michigan. There is an entire entertainment industry in Los Angeles that is appealing and word is the teammates want to team up in college.

As things stand, this one is looking like a one-team race, Southern California, with Michigan pushing hard. With the intel gathered from around this recruitment, when pressing ‘publish’ on this article, Andy Enfield’s Trojans are trending to land the top point guard in the 2023 class.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine

I have placed my expert pick in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Isaiah Collier to choose Southern California. I set my pick with 75 percent confidence.

The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. Starting from the ground up, On3 built an entirely new product that utilizes data, human expertise, and machine learning.