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Recruiting heavyweight jumps into mix for five-star 2015 point guard

ISAIAH BRISCOE,BRUNO SANSIMONI

ISAIAH BRISCOE,BRUNO SANSIMONI

AP

Roselle Catholic (New Jersey) point guard Isaiah Briscoe has long been regarded as one of the best players in the Class of 2015, and his play during the summer with the Playaz Basketball Club did nothing to dispel that notion. With Briscoe leading the way the New Jersey-based program won the EYBL Finals at the Nike Peach Jam, and the five-star point guard is currently ranked ninth in the class by Rivals.com.

With an elite talent such as Briscoe in their area, local programs Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s have all worked hard to place themselves in the running for his services, but as expected those schools have plenty of company in that regard. Among the other programs that have offered Briscoe are Arizona, UConn and Missouri.

Another program that has jumped into the mix in recent weeks is Kentucky, and while Briscoe has yet to receive an offer from the program that has made a habit of reeling in the best classes in the country the increased interest has had an impact. In a story written by Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal, Briscoe’s father George discussed their meeting with head coach John Calipari and assistants Kenny Payne and Barry Rohrssen.

“What was great that he said is it’s a team concept there,” George Briscoe told The Courier-Journal. “There’s nine or 10 McDonald’s All Americans there, and if you’re an individual who thinks you’re going to come in and take 17 or 18 shots and be the guy, Kentucky’s not for you. We went over all those things, which was great, because those are good things you want to go over. You want Isaiah to realize, ‘Well, this is how it is.’ ”

And in regards to the possibility of a scholarship offer, the elder Briscoe said the following:

“Coach Cal said if he wants to come, he can come, so I don’t know what that meant,” George Briscoe said with a laugh, adding that the trip to Lexington would eliminate any uncertainty. "… But we’ve got to see the place first. So we’ll see. It’s late in the game. … Cal spent three hours here. He wants him to come, you know?”

It was mentioned in the Courier-Journal article that Briscoe has visits to UConn and Missouri on the horizon, and he may be in Lexington on October 27 for the Blue-White Scrimmage. Given the lack of high-level point guards in this class, the remaining options will only become more popular as we get closer to the spring signing period (for those who decide to not sign in November). And for a player of Briscoe’s caliber, his recruitment stands to get even more intense than it’s already been.

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