NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of 5-star SG Isiah Harwell final 4 teams
Isiah Harwell is a consensus 5-star prospect in the 2025 NCAA Basketball recruiting class, ranked in the top 10 overall per 247sportsComposite. Originally from the state of Idaho, the 6'5 pure shooting guard and is an elite pure scorer from anywhere on offense. He can do just about anything well and projects to be a future 1st round NBA Draft pick.
Harwell, who now plays for Wasatch Academy in Utah, previously had a list of nine options. However, that's now been cut to four teams, with a decision reportedly set for September 12th. Here's a look at the pros and cons of each finalist still in the running.
NEWS: 5⭐️ Isiah Harwell is down to four schools, he tells @On3Recruits.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) June 15, 2024
The 6-5 Shooting Guard is ranked as a top-10 recruit in the 2025 class.
He’s also set his commitment date and scheduled an official visit for later this month: https://t.co/oFQ7GHpDas pic.twitter.com/4JpEmX7UJc
Cal Bears
Pros
The Bears have a completely new roster for next season and even though most will be around a year from now, none are as good as Harwell is on paper. And that would include Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic unless he has a massive breakout campaign.
It’s a spot where Harwell would be the offensive focal point on day one and if he has a big year can go straight to the pros. That’s what happened this past season with Jaylon Tyson, a former top-50 prospect who averaged 20 ppg in this system and now is a likely 1st round NBA Draft pick.
Cons
Yes, Cal is a west coast program so Harwell can stay out there for half the season. But the program is moving to the ACC, meaning that there’s going to be a ton of traveling for both the school and the players and their families going forward. It’s unknown how well things will go for the school and they may suffer from the road trips.
Also, compared to the other three teams, the Bears are the least likely to be an NCAA Tournament team. In fact, they’re far behind the likes of Gonzaga and Houston. This would be a situation where winning doesn’t matter as much if he’s only around for just a year.