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Isaiah Johnson Arigu…

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He's a bit of a late bloomer. He has all the tools to become a player in the mold of Jordan Miller with time, but his game needs to be refined and become more consistent for that to happen, especially when it comes to his outside shot. Of the three 2024 commits, he's the one that will require a little more seasoning before taking on a prominent role, so he isn't someone I'm relying upon being an immediate impact player at this point for next season. His freshman season could be similar to the ones that Casey and Watson had last year, where he gets some minutes here-or-there to get his feet wet but will mostly be a developmental year.

That said, his game has improved a lot over the past year as he has turned himself from a mid-major level recruit to a high-major player, who is to say that he can't continue on that path? I'm hoping to get to one of his games in December - ideally the one where his Totino-Grace goes against Wayzata and the top 2024 recruit in Minnesota in Jackson McAndrew (a top 50 player nationally, going to Creighton), who they are lined up to play early in the season. I believe the two of them should go against each other, so it'll be a good chance to see him against strong competition.
 
mtsucalico85 said:
He's a bit of a late bloomer. He has all the tools to become a player in the mold of Jordan Miller with time, but his game needs to be refined and become more consistent for that to happen, especially when it comes to his outside shot. Of the three 2024 commits, he's the one that will require a little more seasoning before taking on a prominent role, so he isn't someone I'm relying upon being an immediate impact player at this point for next season. His freshman season could be similar to the ones that Casey and Watson had last year, where he gets some minutes here-or-there to get his feet wet but will mostly be a developmental year.

That said, his game has improved a lot over the past year as he has turned himself from a mid-major level recruit to a high-major player, who is to say that he can't continue on that path? I'm hoping to get to one of his games in December - ideally the one where his Totino-Grace goes against Wayzata and the top 2024 recruit in Minnesota in Jackson McAndrew (a top 50 player nationally, going to Creighton), who they are lined up to play early in the season. I believe the two of them should go against each other, so it'll be a good chance to see him against strong competition.
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Thank you
 
Seems like we have a couple coaches in Minnesota tonight for that Totino-Grace vs. Wayzata matchup I mentioned.

Even with the Colorado game tomorrow, if you were going to pick one day to have coaches watch one of Isaiah's games, this would be it. Not only because it will be the best competition that he will go against all year, but since it is part of a day-long event, they will have a chance to look at all the best HS teams in the state. 2024 is done and the 2025 class is weak, but there are 3-4 kids in the 2026 class that are worth going after and they all played there today (including one of Isaiah's teammates, Dothan Ijadimbola, who is currently regarded as the top 2026 player in the state).

 
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I went to the aforementioned game (didn't personally see any Miami coaches there, but I wasn't looking hard so I'm sure they were), his team lost on a buzzer beater 83-81 to the number one team in the state. Isaiah finished with 17 points (6-14 shooting overall, I believe he was 1-3 from 3 and 4-5 shooting FT's), 5 rebounds, a couple assists and either 1 or 2 blocks. My thoughts on him from watching a full game:

- The type of role that he would fit for Miami is definitely in line with Jordan Miller. While he isn't a guard, he did handle the ball more than I was expecting, and generally took care of the ball. He didn't really force anything and consistently made good decisions. His passing and the vision he displayed was the biggest positive surprise I had watching him. I don't know the exact number of assists he had (I think it was 2), but he deserved a couple more - teammates just didn't finish them off. The three he hit was likely NBA range at the top of the key, and he had a very nice fade away jumper in the paint over Jackson McAndrew (6'9" forward going to Creighton) that was all net. He is plenty athletic for high major college basketball. He didn't always finish with the bucket, but he did well beating his man off the dribble down the baseline in 1-on-1 situations. He also tried to dunk over a couple players late in the first half and almost made it (drew a foul instead).

What he needs to work on:
- Shot needs to become more consistent. He didn't have any horrible misses, but it's still not the biggest strength to his game.
- I wanted to see a little more from him as a rebounder. You would like to see more than 5 from him, and it didn't even feel like he got to 5 while watching live. This may have been just one game, because I think I saw he had a much better rebounding game in his season opener.
- Defense was very up-and-down, with more downs than ups. He was matched up with McAndrew for most of the game, and McAndrew went for 38 points (on 29 shots) and 11 rebounds. Some of this is a credit to McAndrew, who is a very good shotmaker and the top player in the state, but Isaiah was late on his closeouts a couple times. McAndrew hit the game winner over him (in the clip below, Isaiah is number 4 in white), but in that situation, I thought Isaiah played pretty good defense on him, McAndrew just hit a tough shot.

 
Extended highlights of the game, for anyone who is interested:



In the spoiler, I marked most of the plays where Isaiah had an impact, both positive and some negative. I didn't mark all the buckets made on him by McAndrew, just a few of them.

If you watch the full clip and want to know the high level D1 players: on Totino-Grace (white), it is Isaiah (4) and Dothan Ijadimbola (0) (top sophomore in the state, likely top 50 sophomore nationally). For Wayzata (blue), it is McAndrew (23). There probably are a couple mid/low major, D2/D3 types playing as well.

1:35: Fade away 2 point basket
4:25: Dribble penetration and pass for an assist
4:50: Missed 3, but rebound and eventual bucket
5:05: Block in transition that was somehow called a foul, looked clean to me
6:30: Missed turnaround jumper
7:05: Assist on a 3
7:40: Pull up jumper for a long 2
8:55: Made 3 pointer
9:35: Fouled on a dunk attempt
10:00: Back to back plays where he was beat by McAndrew on defense
10:45: Missed shot that ends up in a transition bucket the other way
11:20: Nice blocked shot on McAndrew, but McAndrew would beat him later in the possession
12:45: Good move to attack the basket, but didn’t finish the bucket
14:15: Doesn’t make a closeout, which leads to a made 3 (think he was tired, he sat for a couple minutes after this)
16:35: Two more plays where he is a little late closing out on a made 3
17:05: Nice rim attack that results in an And 1, followed up by another rim attack for a bucket
18:20: Good shot contest near the rim, though Wayzata would get the rebound and score
19:10: Was attacked by McAndrew off the dribble, with McAndrew getting a putback
20:00: Buzzer beater shot by McAndrew over Isaiah. Good defense, just a better shot
 
His team is currently playing in the state championship. Looks solidly built, athletic, was called the most powerful dunker in MN by the announcer. Had a very ugly turnover that made me think he’d fit in well on Miamis team this year lol. Otherwise had a great spin move for a bucket and a couple nice buckets around the rim with pretty good touch for the most part. Also had a couple great passes. Competition doesn’t look very good tho, haven’t really watched high school basketball before but some of these kids are bad. Keep in mind I’m no basketball expert but just a casual take for those interested.

 
Wildnation said:
His team is currently playing in the state championship. Looks solidly built, athletic, was called the most powerful dunker in MN by the announcer. Had a very ugly turnover that made me think he’d fit in well on Miamis team this year lol. Otherwise had a great spin move for a bucket and a couple nice buckets around the rim with pretty good touch for the most part. Also had a couple great passes. Competition doesn’t look very good tho, haven’t really watched high school basketball before but some of these kids are bad. Keep in mind I’m no basketball expert but just a casual take for those interested.

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He's a late riser and definitely someone that I can see carving out a role in the backend of the rotation next year and then being a bigger piece as a sophomore. The competition he plays against is fairly middle of the road, and he needs to get better with his handle but he's someone that will give us bounce, energy and rim pressure right out of the gate as well as on the defensive end. Has a pretty good stroke as well in the midrange so ideally, he's our backup 4.
 
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Wildnation said:
His team is currently playing in the state championship. Looks solidly built, athletic, was called the most powerful dunker in MN by the announcer. Had a very ugly turnover that made me think he’d fit in well on Miamis team this year lol. Otherwise had a great spin move for a bucket and a couple nice buckets around the rim with pretty good touch for the most part. Also had a couple great passes. Competition doesn’t look very good tho, haven’t really watched high school basketball before but some of these kids are bad. Keep in mind I’m no basketball expert but just a casual take for those interested.

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Game can be streamed here. **** near hit his head on the rim on a dunk.

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He’s a lot more athletic than I realized! Really like his upside, but I’m not sure how much he’ll be able to contribute in year 1
 
Gables Canes said:
He’s a lot more athletic than I realized! Really like his upside, but I’m not sure how much he’ll be able to contribute in year 1
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If he can just be athletic and show some defensive intensity, he can get some minutes here and there. Wooga had the same knock as a freshman, and he got minutes just by playing D and being a pest. Defense is 90% effort, hope this young man has that motor. That said, I wouldn't expect him to be major part of the rotation.
 
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Wildnation said:
His team is currently playing in the state championship. Looks solidly built, athletic, was called the most powerful dunker in MN by the announcer. Had a very ugly turnover that made me think he’d fit in well on Miamis team this year lol. Otherwise had a great spin move for a bucket and a couple nice buckets around the rim with pretty good touch for the most part. Also had a couple great passes. Competition doesn’t look very good tho, haven’t really watched high school basketball before but some of these kids are bad. Keep in mind I’m no basketball expert but just a casual take for those interested.

Click to expand...

Wish they would have faced Alexandria in the finals rather than Mankato East. Alexandria has a 2024 Gopher signee and arguably the top 2025 recruit in the state on their roster (both of which are 6'7"-6'8" forwards), so there would have been more high-end talent for him to go against. Mankato East just doesn't have that caliber of athlete on their team to combat Isaiah or Dothan (likely the top 2026 player in the state). He's played against higher quality competition in the regular season (Wayzata and, to a lesser degree, Park Center in particular).

His best performances have tended to come in the bigger games this season, which is certainly a positive. But the consistency isn't there yet. Totally different type of player, but I agree that it could be similar to a Wooga-type of evolution, getting spot minutes as a freshman and taking a step forward as a sophomore.

Also, fun fact for anyone who watched the game (or saw the highlight of Isaiah's dunk)...the color commentator is former Boston College guard Troy Bell.
 
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