Recruiting Report: Isaiah Speelman (2018)

Great size paired with skill and high academic prowess can go a long way when it comes to basketball scholarships.

Hilliard Bradley’s 6-foot-6 small forward Isaiah Speelman currently holds one Division II offer, but it seems several more from larger programs could roll-in over the next 12 months.

“I have one Division II offer from Northwood, but I’ve been contacted by a lot of other schools. I have some D2s like Findlay and Ashland; them and Northwood are the three schools recruiting me the most right now,” said Speelman, who listed a slew of low to high-major Division I programs which have also reached out.

“But then I have some higher-up interest from Iowa, Akron, Dayton, Penn State, Dayton, Toledo, and then Ivy League schools also like Princeton, Penn and Yale. And there’s some other D1s mixed in there too.”

Speelman also mentioned IUPUI and UNC-Asheville as D1s recruiting him, and said they were probably the schools — along with Ashland — recruiting him most right now.

The Ivy League interest stems from Speelman’s 3.85 GPA. And though he’s just a junior, he’s already taken the ACT once…just to get a feel for what it’s like.

“I really pride myself on being a good student, and my parents would never let me not be a good student. So, it’s cool to get rewarded for that by seeing interest from schools as good as Ivy League.”

Still with plenty of time for his recruitment to materialize, Speelman says he’s not overly concerned with it all at the moment, but it is still important to him.

“I’ve got two more high school seasons, and another whole AAU season,” he said. “But it’s definitely important to me because that’s going to be the next chapter of my life. But where I am right now, I really just want to focus mostly on this high school season.”

What the Jaguars will be showcasing this season with Speelman is a big wing, who is skilled and versatile.

“I’m huge on the skill part of the game and working on that,” said Speelman.” I think for my height at 6’6 I’m a really good shooter, I can put it on the floor, I can take it down low, and if I have a bigger guy on me I can take him outside. And I always pride myself on being the hardest working guy on the court at all times.”

Speelman will not only have to fill up the stat-sheet this winter for the Jaguars, but he’ll look to lead too.

“I’ll be one of the leaders of the team, and that’s going to be the biggest difference this year,” he said. “And we have the potential to be really good this year and I really just want to lead this team and get as far as we possibly can in the tournament.”