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Miami Hurricanes Men’s Basketball Coach Jim Larrañaga got some great news today when four star point guard Isaiah Wong verbally committed to play at The U next year. Wong a 6 foot 3 inch guard from Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, PA is ranked #74 by 24/7 Sports. Wong recently named a top 5 of Miami, Villanova, UConn, Clemson and Pitt. Playing for AAU team WE-R1, Wong averaged 19.3 points while shooting 45 percent from three.
Four-star guard Isaiah Wong has verbally committed to Miami, he tells @247Sports | Story: https://t.co/xUCBgJIDcf pic.twitter.com/aoocnPzeeB
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) September 26, 2018
He visited Miami two weeks ago and was hosted by current point guard Chris Lykes.
We asked Isaiah about his style of play and who he tries to mirror his game to. “I am a fast paced style type of player who loves to score, the type of leader that gets my teammates open looks, plays defense, the person you can count on to make tough decisions in last second plays and is focused on helping my team win. I think my game can be best compared most to point guards like Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard.”
When talking about what attracted him to the university he said “Miami is ranked top 50 in Education for National Universities...the environment, people and coaching staff reflects my personality, work ethics and goals. Plus Miami seems like a good place to live with the nice weather.”
What about Miami’s style of play on the court? “What I like about Miami’s style of play is that they are aggressive, also play fast paced, play together as a team and use 3 guards in their offense.” He went on to say that he loves “how Coach L communicates and the energy he brings to the team. Plus he is focused on not only making you a better player but a better man. In the 2 years that Coach L and Coach Fish spent recruiting me they really made an effort at focusing on my whole family and including us into theirs. The team plays together as a team and they are good people on and off the court. The staff is great to be around and I can see them helping me to reach my goals for the future.”
This is a significant pick up for Miami. Isaiah Wong is ranked No. 74 overall in the @247Sports Composite. Wong has terrific speed, defensive upside & the ability to create for himself & others on offense.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) September 26, 2018
Wong spent a fair amount of time with the team and Lykes during his visit hanging out at his off campus apartment. On campus he and his family “toured all the facilities ate at Panda Express and got smoothies from Jamba Juice. We then met with the administrators and educational support staff. We went to a lot of great local restaurants that had beautiful views and great food with the coaches and players.” They also went bowling with the team and had breakfast at Coach L’s house. “He (Larrañaga) took us on a tour of the neighborhoods so I can see the beautiful houses in the area. Then I was able to watch the team practice and played pickup games with the team when they were done.”
CaneHoops fans will enjoy watching Isaiah next year when he brings his high energy game to the Gables. Hopefully, he’ll convince some other high profile recruits to join him.