Georgetown Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Providence Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting

CATCHING UP WITH ISAIAH EPPS

Pitt and Maryland sprint ahead in race for 2010 star guard

By Alex Schwartz

Pittsburgh wants him. So does Rutgers, Seton Hall and Maryland, too. Oh, and Texas, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Providence, Fordham, St. Joseph’s, St. John’s, UCLA, Ohio St., and Michigan St. are on his tail. Who is he? He is Isaiah Epps, one of the best guards on the East Coast and in the country as a whole in the class of 2010.

Epps is a 6’2 combo guard from Plainfield High School (NJ) who tours with the Playaz Basketball Club U-16 team on the AAU circuit. The class of 2010 stud can do it all with a smooth offensive game that shows his ability to shoot the three, get to the hole, and knock down pull-up jumpers. Quite frankly, Isaiah Epps is the real deal.

Isaiah’s talent has led to offers from Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Maryland. Epps’ dream school, North Carolina, is not on his list of schools showing interest, so just who are his favorites?

Currently, Maryland and Pitt are in the lead to land the talented Garden State star. Saturday night at the Summer Shootout at Allentown (NJ) High School, Epps actually wore Pitt basketball shorts.

“My cousin goes to that school, Travon Woodall,” said Epps when asked if wearing Panthers’ gear indicated anything in particular. Does Jamie Dixon’s squad have an advantage over Maryland and others because Woodall is already in the fold?

“Oh no, I just like the school,” Epps told Alex Schwartz. Isaiah is high on Pitt “because they [are in the] Big East and I want to start. They told me I can start as a freshman.”

Epps, who is being recruited by former Pitt star and NJ Playaz alum Brandin Knight for the Panthers, would likely be fine coming in and starting right away, as he is older than his grade would indicate. Isaiah is already 18 years old and thus there has been some question as to what his plans are for his final two years of high school. The rising junior squashed all doubt about his return to Plainfield next year saying, “I’m staying at Plainfield . . . because I’m trying to get a ring.” As for his senior year, Epps is not sure whether or not he will be back at Plainfield: “I might [return], I don’t know,” saying that he has not heard anything about his eligibility for the 2009-2010 year.

So yes, Isaiah does have leaders with Pitt and Maryland, but there are a dozen other schools involved in his recruitment, including four from the Big East. On up-and-coming in-state power Rutgers, Epps said, “I like the facility. . . . I like the academics, . . . and the game that they play.” Jimmy Carr and Darren Savino are the Scarlet Knight coaches who are recruiting the junior-to-be. On the Garden State’s other Big East school, Seton Hall, where Dermon Player is the coach recruiting him, Isaiah told me, “I like the way [Bobby Gonzalez] runs the program.”

On Georgetown, the Plainfield superstar had this to say: “I like the . . . facilities. I like the way they run their plays, and let their point guards take control of their team.” He added that the Hoyas are “looking at . . . Tyrone [Johnson and I] as a backcourt.” This is interesting as Johnson, a class of 2011 stud, and Epps are high school teammates. Although Isaiah was not 100% sure which Georgetown coach was in charge of recruiting him, he knew it was either David Cox or Kenya Hunter.

Providence is the fifth and final Big East school involved with Isaiah currently and he said of the Friars, “I like the way they . . . get the ball up and down the court.” There is not a specific coach recruiting Isaiah, as PC has a new coaching staff, led by Keno Davis, formerly of Drake.

So what does Isaiah think of the Big East anyway? “I’m really an ACC guy, but I just like certain schools from the Big East,” mentioning, “Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Rutgers, and Georgetown.”

Epps, who indicated that he will play point guard in college, despite the fact that he may grow to 6-foot-4, does not have a clear leader between Pitt and Maryland at this point in time. When asked who he would sign with if signing day was tomorrow, he was really unsure, “I really don’t know. . . . [I'm] still thinking with my mom.”

Epps, who is a nice, friendly, social guy off the court, but an intense hard-working star on it, indicated that the current plan is to commit at the end of his junior season.

Epps stated he really enjoyed his trip to Vegas and time at the Hoop Group Elite Camp from the hectic July recruiting period. In Vegas, the Playaz competed in the Adidas Super 64 as they made a run to the Elite Eight of the event, despite seeing players such as Shaquille Thomas and Jayon James switch to other programs this summer. Meanwhile, at Session IV of The Hoop Group Elite Camp, Isaiah was selected as the camp’s Most Outstanding Prospect, and was the first point guard taken in the NBA East Draft.

Will Isaiah Epps go to the Big East? It’s definitely possible, as over a third of the schools involved in his recruitment are in the prestigious conference. Pittsburgh is the likeliest suitor of the 16 colleges in the conference, but the Panthers have some stiff competition to beat out in its attempt to land Epps. At the top of that list is Maryland, where Gary Williams could definitely use a big-time recruit to help bring the Terrapins back to prominence. Only time will tell where the player who is affectionately known as “Zeke” ends up, but whoever lands the combo guard will be a lucky recipient of a talented player who can do it all offensively. Watch out for Isaiah Epps down the road, he’s headed for the spotlight.

Alex Schwarts is President and Chief Scouting Officer of Northstar Basketball.

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