Kentucky keeping an eye on 4-star C Isaiah Miranda following campus visit

One of John Calipari’s former players is now the head coach of a top recruit, and Kentucky is after them.

Antonio Anderson, who played under Calipari from 2005-09 during his time at Memphis, is in his first season as the head coach at Springfield Commonwealth Academy, a private school in Massachusetts home to one of the top high school centers in the country. That big man is 7-foot-1, 220-pound Isaiah Miranda, who was in Lexington last week for an unofficial visit to Kentucky.

The four-star junior was accompanied by five-star wing Matas Buzelis, who picked up an offer following the conclusion of his trip.

Wildcats where y’all Kentucky we here💙💙 @KentuckyMBB

— Isaiah Miranda (@IsaiahSaMiranda) December 21, 2021

While Miranda didn’t receive a scholarship at the end of his visit to UK, the Wildcat staff is keeping a close eye on him. Anderson stays in touch with both Calipari and assistant coach Orlando Antigua (who was also on the Memphis staff from 2005-09), who have been recruiting Miranda since the summer.

Even though Anderson did not accompany Miranda on his visit, the two did talk about it after the fact. The feedback was overall positive.

“He told me it well, he had a good time,” Anderson told KSR about Miranda’s UK experience. “He saw all the practices, saw the facilities and been around the coaches–Coach Antigua and Coach Cal–he went to the game (against WKU), he seen how the fanbase was, he liked the campus.”

Miranda is one of just a handful of seven-footers from the class of 2023. His size puts him at a premium. He grew from 6-foot-6 as a freshman to now over seven feet as a junior, making him anything but a one-dimensional center. Miranda has the tools that make for an excellent modern big.

“He’s hybrid. The kid can move,” Anderson said. “He’s probably faster than a lot of guards. Can defend multiple positions, run the floor like a deer, can finish at the rim, can really shoot the ball. Can put the ball on the floor. He’s just got to keep polishing his game. Once he keeps polishing his game, he’ll get better at everything. He’s really good at everything right now and he can always improve and he knows that.”

Anderson’s past and current relationship with Calipari has made Miranda’s recruitment with Kentucky more seamless than it might be with other programs. After all, Anderson was part of Memphis’ NCAA Runner-Up starting lineup in 2007-08 that consisted of himself, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Robert Dozier. He knows what makes Cal tick and what he expects out of his players.

Nearly 15 years later, that bond is allowing for a more personable connection between coaches and a star recruit.

“I have a relationship with Cal who I played for in college,” Anderson said. “Coach Antigua was my assistant also at Memphis when Coach Cal was there. So I’ve talked to Isaiah about what it’s like playing for Coach Cal. What he expects on a daily basis, things like that. If he asks me any questions of that nature about what it’s like playing for Coach and how I was able to handle it. Those are the things I try to show him.”

Miranda is actually the first visitor of the season who did not pick up a scholarship from Kentucky once it was over. That being said, he’s also the lowest-ranked prospect to do so and one Calipari can learn more about with one phone call. Cal plans on returning to Massachusetts multiple times in the second semester to watch Miranda play. Kentucky will take things from there.

After blowing up on the recruiting scene in 2021, Miranda is hearing from schools all over the country. He’s been on additional visits to UCLA, Southern California, Providence, St. John’s, and UConn. Anderson mentioned Southern California and UConn specifically as schools recruiting Miranda the hardest.

“Isaiah is a people person,” Anderson added. “I think he wants to be somewhere it’s lively, not party-wise, just more so he can be himself. He’s just one of those outgoing people.”

There is currently no timeline for a final decision for Miranda. He also holds offers from the likes of Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Memphis, and several other Power 5 schools. The seven-footer is one to keep an eye on this spring.