St. John’s Targeting Top Recruit Isaiah Briscoe
By Joe Nardone
Jul 18, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Team USA East player Isaiah Briscoe (9) dribbles the ball as Team France player Valentin Estienne (5) defends during the Nike Global Challenge at Trinity University in Washington, DC. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Recruiting can be a tricky game. Just ask Steve Lavin in the post Isaiah Whitehead world. If you remember, Whitehead chose the Seton Hall Pirates over the St. John’s Red Storm because Seton Hall hired Tiny Morton as a coach. Luckily for the Johnnies, however, recruiting doesn’t stop or get revoked because they lost out on a single player. That is why it comes as little to no surprise that Lavin has his eyes set on New Jersey standout, Isaiah Briscoe.
Briscoe is only a junior. Meaning, if he were to accept the scholarship offered by Lavin, D’Angelo Harrison and a slew of other backcourt players would be off the team. That is not even counting Rysheed Jordan — who may declare early entry before Briscoe enters college. This would make playing time a good pitch for the Red Storm to use. On top of that, Isaiah Briscoe would be relatively close to home. Couple all of that with playing for a (supposedly) rejuvenated program and Lavin may have just dropped an offer that Briscoe can’t refuse.
A point guard, Briscoe is ranked in the top-20 of nearly every scouting service for the 2015 class. He also averaged 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals last year for St. Benedict’s Prep before making the move to Roselle Catholic this summer.
Other teams are obviously on this kid’s radar. Reportedly, Providence, Seton Hall (can they take on more assistants?), Rutgers, Iona, and more are all vying for Briscoe’s services.
No matter, it is still early in the recruiting process for Isaiah Briscoe. Getting all hot and bothered for a guy a couple of years away from playing seems counterproductive. Not because you shouldn’t get excited, but because St. John’s needs to be relevant in the new Big East Conference now — or chasing down a player of Briscoe’s level might be pointless.
Kids like to play for winners. You know what I mean?
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Joseph is the Managing Editor of Storm The Paint. Him, Twitter @JosephNardone