Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
NEWARK, N.J. — Isaiah Briscoe has yet to play his first high school game at St. Benedict’s Prep and he’s already piled up quite a list of scholarship offers.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard holds offers from Arizona, Baylor, Pittsburgh, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Cincinnati.
Rick Pitino of Louisville, Mick Cronin of Cincinnati and Jim Larranaga of Miami were on hand at the school Monday.
During an open gym Tuesday that featured Georgetown’s John Thompson III, Georgia Tech’s Brian Gregory, Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Wagner’s Dan Hurley, Towson’s Pat Skerry and assistants from TCU, Harvard and St. Peter’s, Briscoe wowed the crowd.
“He’s the best player in the gym right now and there’s a lot of good players in the gym,” one head coach said, referring to the approximately 10 D-1 players in the workout. “He’s a Top 5 player in his class in the country.”
The hype and expectations surrounding Briscoe are high, but his father, George, attends nearly every practice and is supportive of his son. Isaiah, in turn, is learning to handle the attention that comes with the hype.
“I think it’s really off my potential because I’m young but it makes me feel good and it makes me work harder,” he said.
Briscoe also has a group of older guards around him to help him grow and develop, including 2013 point guard Tyler Ennis, 2012 point guard Tariq Carey and 2012 shooting guard Melvin Johnson. Ennis and Briscoe could start in the backcourt.
“It’s tough,” Briscoe said. “Melvin, Tyler and Tariq, a lot of tough guards, D-1, so just going at them every day in practice. I want to ‘D’ them and get better on my defense.”
Added Ennis: “He’s good. He works hard all the time, so it shows him that his hard work’s paying off right now.”
**Speaking of Ennis, check out this feature on him electing to stay in the Class of 2013. Read it now on FiveStarBasketball.com.
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**Briscoe, Towns star at JEM Classic
**Briscoe to continue Anderson’s legacy
**Rutgers, Seton Hall offer freshman
**McLeod resigns from St. Benedict’s
**Taylor named new coach at St. Ben’s
**New era dawning at St. Benedict’s
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NEWARK, N.J. — Isaiah Briscoe has yet to play his first high school game at St. Benedict’s Prep and he’s already piled up quite a list of scholarship offers.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard holds offers from Arizona, Baylor, Pittsburgh, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Cincinnati.
Rick Pitino of Louisville, Mick Cronin of Cincinnati and Jim Larranaga of Miami were on hand at the school Monday.
During an open gym Tuesday that featured Georgetown’s John Thompson III, Georgia Tech’s Brian Gregory, Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Wagner’s Dan Hurley, Towson’s Pat Skerry and assistants from TCU, Harvard and St. Peter’s, Briscoe wowed the crowd.
“He’s the best player in the gym right now and there’s a lot of good players in the gym,” one head coach said, referring to the approximately 10 D-1 players in the workout. “He’s a Top 5 player in his class in the country.”
The hype and expectations surrounding Briscoe are high, but his father, George, attends nearly every practice and is supportive of his son. Isaiah, in turn, is learning to handle the attention that comes with the hype.
“I think it’s really off my potential because I’m young but it makes me feel good and it makes me work harder,” he said.
Briscoe also has a group of older guards around him to help him grow and develop, including 2013 point guard Tyler Ennis, 2012 point guard Tariq Carey and 2012 shooting guard Melvin Johnson. Ennis and Briscoe could start in the backcourt.
“It’s tough,” Briscoe said. “Melvin, Tyler and Tariq, a lot of tough guards, D-1, so just going at them every day in practice. I want to ‘D’ them and get better on my defense.”
Added Ennis: “He’s good. He works hard all the time, so it shows him that his hard work’s paying off right now.”
**Speaking of Ennis, check out this feature on him electing to stay in the Class of 2013. Read it now on FiveStarBasketball.com.
RELATED CONTENT
**Briscoe, Towns star at JEM Classic
**Briscoe to continue Anderson’s legacy
**Rutgers, Seton Hall offer freshman
**McLeod resigns from St. Benedict’s
**Taylor named new coach at St. Ben’s
**New era dawning at St. Benedict’s
