"Their culture is real": 5-star guard Isiah Harwell shares reason for committing to Houston
Isiah Harwell, a five-star shooting guard, committed to Houston on Thursday. The 6-foot-6 guard is only the second five-star recruit to commit to Houston in over a decade. Jarace Walker from the Class of 2022 was the last five-star prospect to pick the Cougars since Danuel House in 2012.
Kelvin Sampson’s team was among the four finalist schools Harwell listed, along with California, Gonzaga, and Texas. He visited Cal in the summer this year and Houston and Texas in the last weeks of August.
"Houston was very consistent recruiting me during my injury and rehab," Isiah told ESPN. "On my visit it was a family atmosphere. I got to spend a lot of time with the players, and we ended up sitting around and they were talking [about] how they all arrived at Houston. Their culture is real."
Moreover, Isiah Harwell spoke highly of coach Kelvin Sampson and his coaching technique.
"Coach Sampson is a cool dude," Isiah said. "He knows what it takes for players to reach the next level, we talked about that.
"I need to shoot 38-40% from 3, average six or seven rebounds and play defense on the opponent's best perimeter player. He said if you don't play defense you won't play at Houston."
Before getting injured last season, Harwell played six games in the EYBL Scholastic circuit, averaging 16.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He also helped the U16 USA team win a gold medal at the FIBA Americas tournament last year.
Isiah Harwell cites Cal alum Jaylen Brown's success
Despite choosing to play for the Cougars, the second-best recruit in Utah cited the success of NBA star Jaylen Brown, who played college basketball at California.
During his visit to Cal, Isiah Harwell met with coach Mark Madsen and they had a positive discussion. Many were optimistic that the Idaho native would ultimately commit to the Golden Bears.
However, Isiah Harwell picked Sampson's program instead. He showed interest in Cal partly because of his dad, Ron Harwell, a childhood friend of Cal's assistant coach, Amorrow Morgan.
"Coach Amarrow Morgan grew up with my dad. So he has been a really close family friend for a while. I’ve been talking with Coach Mark [Madsen]," Isiah talked about his recruitment with On3 this summer.
"You know, Jaylen Brown went out there and had a lot of success, so it is an underrated school."
Jaylen Brown, a Boston Celtics star, played a season with the Golden Bears before declaring for the NBA draft. If Isiah Harwell joins the Golden Bears, he would be the school's third-best recruit, behind Jason Kidd and Jaylen Brown.