There may be no player with more upside in the Class of 2016 than Jonathan Isaac. At 18 years old, the Senior from IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) is just getting started. After committing to Florida State this past summer, Isaac is ready to lead his team to a national title: “[This year, my goal is] just to win. Make it to the national championship and just win. That’s the goal.” proclaimed Isaac.

 

Jonathan Isaac began playing basketball at the age of eight, but it wasn’t until he started at IMG Academy this year that he started to blow up. “Oh man. I don’t even remember. I had around 30 or 40 offers in total from schools like, Kentucky, Louisville, Pittsburgh, LSU, Michigan, among others,” While many people may think that choosing a school is easy, Isaac would beg to differ. “It’s a lot of everything. Everyday you could get something different,” he said. “One day might be a stressful day and another might be fun. When a school offers you, of course that’s fun, but when you feel that you are getting bombarded it becomes stressful.”

 

All of that stress came to an end on July 6, 2015, when the 6’9” Forward out of Naples, Florida chose to attend Florida State.  “It was just my relationship with the coaches. Over time, I came to have a really good relationship with them and so I figured that is where I want to go.” said Isaac. His commitment to Florida State was a culmination of hard work and self confidence “I think that I had a lot of mental obstacles, not believing in myself,” Isaac explained. “All of my obstacles were mental. I didn’t have too many physical obstacles, but just not believing in myself, not being confident took some time to overcome.”

 

A main factor in his ability to overcome his obstacles was his work at IMG Academy. Isaac joined IMG this year,  but when he decided where to play his high school career, IMG Academy was completely off the radar: “I didn’t even know IMG existed, but I think I put on twitter that I was looking for a new place to be and they contacted me. Once I took a tour of all the facilities, I realized that this was the next step in getting to where I want to go.” said Isaac.  Once Isaac joined IMG, he began to climb through the ESPN rankings for the Class of 2016, ultimately resulting in his current ranking of #9 in the ESPN 60.

 

Isaac’s sudden development at IMG has also helped him with his AAU team, Each 1 Teach 1. “Each 1 Teach 1 was the highlight of my life, . It opened my eyes up so much to myself and finding out that I can be a top player in the country, gaining confidence and stuff like that.” said Isaac. Alumni’s of Each 1 Teach 1 include NBA players such as Brandon Knight and D’angelo Russell. Another alumni is current LSU superstar Ben Simmons. Despite his success, it hasn’t been all fun and games for Isaac. In the past, Isaac has struggled to excel in the classroom, but with a solid mindset, he has shown that he can overcome those hardships,   “I think it’s tough, but just having the mindset that you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m not gonna lie to you, I don’t like school very much, but I understand that I need to get to where I want to go, so I need to give it 100%.” admitted the IMG Senior.

 

It’s been a challenge for Jonathan Isaac, but through his work at IMG Academy, and with Each 1 Teach 1, he has been able to develop into one of the best talents in the Class of 2016. As he completes his senior year at IMG, it will be interesting to see how his talent evolves to the next level. Jonathan Isaac is undoubtedly a player to look out for in the Class of 2016.