He’s only 21 years old, but Isaiah Collier’s old Wheeler High School basketball jersey number will never be worn again.
His No. 4 shirt was retired recently at a special ceremony, three years after Collier led the Wildcats to their third Georgia state championship in four years.
Now a guard with the Utah Jazz of the NBA, Collier is being honored in Wildcat Arena next to Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics, recently inducted in the Wheeler Athletic Hall of Fame.
They are the only former Wheeler players to have their jerseys retired.
As a senior, Collier was Georgia Mr. Basketball, the Naismith National high school player of the year and an All-American.
After graduation, he played one season at the University of Southern California. In his second professional season, he leads the Jazz with 7.4 assists and averages 10 points a game as a part-time starter.
“Isaiah, your jersey goes up tonight because you’ve earned it,” Wheeler athletics director Barry Bowdre told him, in a release issued by the Cobb County School District.
“From this moment forward, every young Wildcat who looks up on this wall will see your number and know what’s possible. Congratulations, Isaiah Collier. The number 4 will never be worn again in Wheeler Basketball history.”
Collier was honored before the Jazz played the Hawks in Atlanta, and was joined by some of his Utah teammates and family members.
“This means a lot,” Collier said in the district release. “With all the alumni that have come through this school, and the history of basketball at this school, it means a lot to me and my family. Am I surprised it happened so quickly? I feel like, yeah, I’m a little bit surprised how fast it happened, but I’m happy about it. I’m just happy about it.”
Related:
- Boston Celtics star joins Wheeler Athletic Hall of Fame
- East Cobb high school athletes make college commitments
- Wheeler hires football coach who won Fla. state title
- Pope youth football coach and booster battling dementia
- Walton Hall of Fame class includes former Little League star
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