4-star junior CG Isaiah West announces top schools
Goodpasture Christian (Tenn.) combo guard Isaiah West had his high school season cut short after a torn ACL. The 6-foot-2 prospect has begun the rehab process, but will, unfortunately, miss the AAU season, including the live periods where college coaches can see him play.
However, West has still decided to move forward and announce his top ten schools – Cincinnati, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.
With that being said, Clemson, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Louisville, and Virginia have not yet offered.
Regardless, West has been to a few campuses unofficially, including Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Clemson, and Vanderbilt. He also says these are the four schools he hears from the most.
West broke down each visit with On3.
West talks visits
Georgia Tech: “It went well. They showed me the facilities and everything and talked about what my future could be at Georgia Tech. They talked about how good of a guard I could be in their system and that I could be next up.”
Ole Miss: “The energy and all the love down there, it was a lot different than what I expected. The coaching staff, I’ve talked with them a lot and they’re recruiting me pretty heavy right now. I usually talk with them all the time. We just chop it up every day. They talk to me about how I could be the next great point guard in their system.”
Clemson: “The visit went really good. We got to see Clemson football play and all of that. I was talking to the coaching staff most of the day and we were just talking about how me, Chase (Clemmons), and Coen (Carr) could make a big impact to Clemson basketball and change the narrative about it.”
West talks reclassification option with Vanderbilt
Only about a 30-minute drive, Vanderbilt is the closest school to Isaiah West proximity-wise. He’s been on campus many times and was in attendance to see the Commodores win over Georgia last Saturday.
“I’ve toured the campus plenty of times,” he says. “I’ve seen the campus and saw the new stuff they just put in, and even the stuff they’re going to put in in the future.”
To no surprise, West says he’s the most familiar with Vanderbilt and shared how they would like for him to reclass and join the team a year early.
“They have a really good staff and they have a lot of good stuff going for them right now. They’ve got a really good 2022 class coming in, and they’d really love for me to be a part of that class, or come the year I’m scheduled to. I would say, honestly, I’m probably the closest with them, that staff, out of anybody. They’d love to keep an in-state guy, in-state.”
What’s the likelihood that West does indeed reclassify to 2022?
“I would honestly say right now, I’m just taking it slow and kind of leaning on staying in my class (2023), but I’m always open to hearing about what benefits could come from reclassifying up. I’ll make a decision about that this summer.”
West also mentioned that Vanderbilt is the only school on his list that has encouraged him to come a year early, and the rest of the schools are expecting him in 2023.
West on Tennessee State
Tennessee State was the first D1 program to offer West, and they too, are not far from home.
“It’s really cultured based I would say,” West said. “Penny does a really good job of keeping his guys in check. He has a really close relationship with his players, probably a lot closer than most schools I’ve been to. Penny is a family-oriented guy.”
West on Virginia Tech
“What I like about Tech is their playstyle and how hard their team works. They will send videos all the time of workouts and how good their team really can be at their full potential.”
Next steps and commitment timeline
West doesn’t have any future visits scheduled and has “no idea” when he will make a college decision.