Isaiah Stewart announced his college destination tonight during halftime of the Oak Hill vs IMG Academy game on ESPN. The five-star prospect out of New York had broken his choice down to five schools. Those were Washington, Syracuse, Michigan State, Duke, and Kentucky, the latter of which made a late surge into the recruiting picture. 247 Sports has Stewart rated as the third best center in the country and a Crystal Ball advantage of 61% to Washington prior to the commitment tonight.
When 7:30 PM rolled around it came down to those five schools and the talented center, and sixth overall player in the country committed to WASHINGTON to spend his (likely) one year in college at. This is really good news for Mike Hopkin’s squad in 2019.
What Kind of Player is Isaiah Stewart?
Isaiah Stewart stands at 6’9″ and 245lb. A large player who doesn’t shy away from playing like a large player. Stewart bangs in the paint and throws his weight around to get almost whatever he wants to on the high school and AAU circuits. One of the big knocks on high school players nowadays is their lack of effort. Isaiah Stewart is anything but lacking in effort. He is a player with great defensive prowess, blocks shots and alters the play of other teams with his size. On the offensive glass, Stewart is going to pull down rebounds and get easy second-chance points. He isn’t going to shoot a lot of jump shots, but he isn’t entirely inept at putting up short and mid-range jumpers.
Plain and simple, this guy is probably going to end up in the NBA, like other La Lumiere standout, Jaren Jackson Jr., and soon. Stewart is going to make plays at the college level that wow crowds and show off his great size and ability, and the most important thing he is going to do is give offenses fits in the paint.
