Welcome to the Fizz wishlist, where we’ll introduce and break down players in the 2023 recruiting class that you should keep an eye on. Is it too early to look this far in the future? Well, the reason it’s not is because it’s never too early to take a gander around possible SU basketball commits on the horizon.
To tip off the wishlist is a piece that can add a whole lot of talent to a revitalized position in Central New York. It’s Springfield Commonwealth Academy product Isaiah Miranda, who slots in at 7-feet tall as a freak-of-nature center.
Miranda is ranked 35th in ESPN’s top 60 athletes in the class of 2023. The 4-star’s ability shines through his toughness and ferocity around the rim. Miranda’s keen sense of finding open space near the rim is a large reason why he’s ranked as a top 5 center in his class and the top player in the state of Massachusetts.
The class of ’23 product is a hybrid between a typical center who can dominate in the post, as well as stretch up beyond the paint and knock down a jump shot. This separates Miranda from the typical SU center. As the Orange have been able to develop players like Jesse Edwards and Frank Anselem, the recruiting pitch to someone like Miranda is a tough sell. That mainly surrounds Boeheim and the rest of the coaching staff’s inability to find a comparison in order to present the 4-star with the clear role he can expect to play.
That’s what also makes the junior in high school so unique. A player who runs the floor well, tracks the play with patience on the defensive end, as well as disrupt defenses who are tasked with worrying about his whereabouts at all times. Miranda’s triple threat ability already gears him toward being a better passer at the college level and forces opposing big men into uncomfortable positions outside the painted area.
All this skill encapsulates to one heck of a player who already weighs in at 210 pounds, with plenty of time to bulk up a little more before competing at the collegiate level. But it also leads to an individual that has drawn plenty of eyes including the likes of Kentucky, UConn, UCLA, Memphis and Oklahoma State. In total, Miranda’s offer count is up to 20 according to 247 Sports (with nearly two years of high school basketball left).
Early indications are pointing toward John Calipari and Kentucky, as Miranda is already scheduled to visit Lexington on December 21. It helps that Coach Cal and company have recruited and successfully grown players like Anthony Davis and Karl Anthony-Towns, who both stretch beyond the past limitations of what a center is supposed to do on the floor.
With the center position clearing up in the next couple years, a dynamic big man like Miranda could add to the building blocks the Orange are piling up beyond a top 10 2022 recruiting class. It could also mark the start of revitalizing a seven-footers role at SU and allow the Orange to play small (a.k.a shoot more, focus less on the inside game), while simultaneously playing big (taller and larger players at each position).
