Pawtucket's Isaiah Miranda makes ESPN's list of the top 60 prep juniors in basketball

Bill Koch, The Providence Journal
·3 min read

Wednesday brought more men’s basketball recruiting recognition for Pawtucket native Isaiah Miranda.

The 7-foot-1-inch forward came in at No. 26 in the 2023 ESPN 60, a list of the best current junior prospects in the prep ranks.

That makes Miranda the top New England recruit in his class. His development has come in leaps and bounds since beginning his career at Tolman and subsequently enrolling at Massachusetts power Springfield Commonwealth. Miranda also runs on the grassroots circuit with RI Elite, an upstart intent on claiming some market share from more established neighboring powers.

Miranda is a consensus top-50 prospect, according to the scouting services — he checks in at No. 32, according to 247Sports, and No. 42 with Rivals.com. His length, athleticism and defensive ability make him an intriguing potential piece for an NCAA Tournament regular.

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Isaiah Miranda at the foul line.
Isaiah Miranda at the foul line.

Miranda claims a host of offers from Big East and Power 5 programs. Providence, Connecticut, Seton Hall and St. John’s would all give him a chance to play the majority of his conference games locally. USC, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Washington and Syracuse are among the other major programs vying for his services.

Miranda took an official visit to Kentucky in December and is awaiting a potential scholarship offer from the Wildcats. His connection to Lexington comes through Tornados head coach Antonio Anderson, a Memphis alum who played for current Wildcats head coach John Calipari while with the Tigers from 2005-09. Miranda also claims interest from LSU and Georgia Tech.

Anderson’s alma mater — with its considerable name, image and likeness muscle that helped haul in a star-studded freshman class for the 2021-22 season — could be a wildcard among those vying for Miranda’s services. Memphis has offered a scholarship and a chance to play for former program great Penny Hardaway. Anderson and Hardaway are the only two Tigers with triple-doubles in team history.

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Six prospects ranked ahead of Miranda by ESPN have already made college choices. Robert Dillingham (No. 6, North Carolina State), Simeon Wilcher (No. 10, North Carolina), Sean Stewart (No. 13, Duke), Kanaan Carlyle (No. 17, Stanford), Caleb Foster (No. 19, Duke) and George Washington III (No. 25, Ohio State) all gave verbal commitments to their respective schools. Each player will be eligible to sign a letter of intent in November.

Miranda also counts a pair of potential future teammates among those ranked behind him in 2023. Shooting guards Reed Sheppard (No. 34) and Stephon Castle (No. 56) have pledged to Kentucky and the Huskies, respectively. Each player made his commitment in November and gave those schools a strong head start on their next classes.

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Sheppard is the son of two Wildcats legends — two-time national champion Jeff Sheppard and the former Stacey Reed. He's a five-star prospect, according to Rivals.com, and a consensus four-star prospect elsewhere. Castle is a four-star Georgia native who listed Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Ohio State as his other finalists.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Pawtucket's Isaiah Miranda among ESPN's top 60 basketball prospects