Sophomore Isaiah Elohim talks move to Sierra Canyon, early recruitment
Class of 2024’s Isaiah Elohim is a name to start getting yourself familiar with. The 6-foot-5 guard recently transferred to powerhouse Sierra Canyon, after spending his eighth and ninth-grade year down the road at Heritage Christian, in the Los Angeles area.
In case you’ve been living underneath a rock, Sierra Canyon is home to Bronny James, the son of Lakers’ star LeBron James. Joining Bronny at Sierra Canyon is a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in Amari Bailey, who’s signed to UCLA, and Kijani Wright, a USC signee. Not to mention, Ramel Lloyd Jr., a top-100 prospect headed to Nebraska.
It’s safe to say Isaiah Elohim joined a team with quite possibly the biggest spotlight in high school hoops. The transition couldn’t have been easy.
“It was kind of hard at first, but now that I’m starting to get used to it, it’s gotten easier,” Elohim says. “It’s a very surreal feeling, it feels like you’re in the NBA, with all the fans. But when you’re in the moment you’re just playing, just doing your thing.”
Elohim finds himself in a unique situation, playing alongside the most famous high school basketball player ever, Bronny James. However, Elohim says Bronny isn’t who you’d expect him to be.
“He acts like he’s not who he is, you know? He’s very humble and he will talk to anybody,” Elohim said of Bronny. “He doesn’t think he’s better than anyone. He treats everyone the same.”
Read more about Bronny and his mysterious recruitment here.
After having to sit out most of his sophomore season due to CIF transfer rules, Elohim made his Sierra Canyon debut on December 21st. However, his recruitment process started long before.
Early offers
As a freshman, Elohim picked up his first offer from Arizona State. Several others followed shortly after including Arizona, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Washington, and Kansas.
Despite it being early in the process, Elohim hears from a few schools regularly.
“I hear the most from UCLA and USC,” he says. “I like both of them. Also, Kansas. Kansas is one I really want to visit just to see a different aspect of things.”
Fun fact: This past summer, Elohim lead the 15U division after averaging 28.5 points a game at the Nike Peach Jam while playing for Paul George Elite.
Elohim talks Kansas, UCLA
The Kansas Jayhawks were the first non-Pac-12 school to offer Elohim. What does he like about the legendary blue-blood program?
“I like how they play,” he explained. “It’s very fast-paced and they’re tenacious, so I would like to see their practices and see the campus. I always hear about Kansas and watch them on TV, so to visit them would be great.”
Elohim’s most recent offer came from the UCLA Bruins, a school very close to home.
“I just like their style of play. It’s a lot of creating shots for others. You can be free with the ball, you can really handle the ball and get to your spots and score. It’s basically an NBA system in college. I just like their campus as well. Their campus looks crazy.”
Another blue-blood is interested
To go along with Auburn and Texas, Elohim has also started to hear from Kentucky.
“I think Kentucky is waiting until my junior year to offer me and recruit me,” Elohim says.
Regardless, being recruited by Kentucky is a big deal.
“I definitely like Coach Cal and what he brings to the table as far as players in the past, like Devin Booker,” Elohim said. “I see a lot of similarities in our game and Coach Cal developed him into a really good player. I just like how he develops players and gets a lot of players in the league.”
Dream school
Most hoopers grow up dreaming of playing at a school like Kentucky, UCLA, Duke, or North Carolina, but not Elohim.
“You might be surprised, but my dream school was Syracuse,” he said. “I would always watch Carmelo highlights and I definitely wanted to go to Syracuse.”
Elohim was born in upstate New York and lived there until he was five years old. However, after he moved to California and as time went on, so did the dream of playing at ‘Cuse.
“I don’t really watch Syracuse as much anymore. I’ve seen other colleges and I just didn’t really see myself at Syracuse,” Elohim explained.
Elohim enjoys watching college basketball
Besides watching the pair of local powerhouses – UCLA and USC – Elohim likes to watch two more teams play.
“I watch Baylor a lot and Gonzaga. I really like their style of play, on both ends of the floor,” Elohim says. “I really like how hard they play, throughout the whole game. They’re really locked in and I really like that.”
College or pro?
Although the pro route isn’t currently an option for Elohim, it very well could be in the future. The elite guard says college is his current plan but he will leave the door open for professional opportunities.
“I’ve always dreamt about being in college and just the atmosphere and the fans. The pro route, like the Overtime and G-League, they’re newly emerging. So a lot of things could happen over time. College is definitely my focus right now, but if it’s the right decision to go pro, then I’ll go pro.”
What is Elohim looking for in a future school?
While it’s still super early in the recruitment process, Isaiah Elohim already knows what he’s looking for in his future home.
“I’m looking for the family aspect, a place that makes me feel comfortable,” he says. “Around the players, coaches, even the teachers, staff of the school, all of that. I just want to be comfortable, and when I’m comfortable, I think that’s when I’m my best self.”
Elohim describes his game
“I’m a combo guard. I can really pass and score. I can play defense as well, so I’m just trying to be really well-rounded,” Elohim says. “I would say my strength is definitely my mid-range game, I can get there anytime I want. I can create for myself, as well as create for others. What I need to work on is extending my range, and becoming more consistent on the three-point line.”
Standing at 6-foot-5, and weighing in at 200 pounds, Elohim has a naturally physically built body for a player his age.
“I want to get those fast-twitch muscles down pat. That’s something I’ve been working on for a while and to have the stamina to go the full game.”
On3 has not yet begun ranking the class of 2024, however, Elohim projects as a five-star prospect.