Recruiting Rpeort: Isaiah Barnes (2021)

<p>OPRF 2021 shooting guard <strong>Isaiah Barnes</strong> has long been one of the top prospects in his class.  Smooth wing with three level scoring ability and considerable upside.  After a strong showing at the Riverside Brookfield Live Event high-majors are starting to take notice and he has become a priority for mid-majors.  We caught up with him to get the latest.  First we spoke about his spring with the Illinois Wolves 16U.</p> <p>“The spring went ok.  Not the way we wanted to going 8-4 in UAA.  We got new guys on the team and are trying to gel with each other.  We will be back this summer.”</p> <p>How was June with his high school team?</p> <p>“It is going well.  We are a really tough team.  We are going to be really hard to beat when we get polished.”</p> <p>Barnes discussed the biggest areas of his game he has improved as a player.</p> <p>“I have seen the most growth in my motor.  I had a lot of coaches tell me that I needed to play harder.  Playing hard is a skill and so that is something I have been working on even when things aren’t going my way.”</p> <p>He recently landed his first high-major offer from an in-state Big 10 school.</p> <p>“I was recently offered by Illinois.  It feels like home.  They really care for their players.  They treated me like they knew me for a long time.  They see big things for me.”</p> <p>What other schools have offered?</p> <p>“I have Miami (OH), Chicago State, Loyola, Detroit, Illinois, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.”</p> <p>There are several other schools who have shown interest.</p> <p>“I have interest from Butler, Appalachian State, Florida Atlantic, and others.”</p> <p>Barnes checks in as the #7 overall prospect in the PHI 2021 Rankings.</p>