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Isaiah Philmore is a family man.
Despite offers from nationally-regarded programs, his family ties, and friendship with a fellow incoming recruit, were enough to persuade the Rivals.com 3-Star recruit to play for Pat Kennedy and become the centerpiece of what the coach calls his “building program.”
“It was very hard for us to get players of his caliber for the first two or three years here at Towson because of the lack of tradition,” Kennedy said. “Some kids want to be the guy who takes the road less traveled and want to be the guy who makes something special happen.”
Philmore, a 6-foot-7-inch forward at The John Carroll School in Bel Air, turned down offers from Marquette, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Michigan and Temple. He joins 6-foot-9-inch center Erique Gumbs and Philadelphia guard Will Adams as perhaps Kennedy’s best recruiting class at Towson. Despite the offers Philmore received elsewhere, the decision for him was easy to make.
“It felt the best,” Philmore said of Towson. “My mother wanted me to stay close to home. Plus, I signed with Erique Gumbs who’s my best friend. That made it real easy for me to make a decision.”
Gumbs and Philmore’s friendship began almost five years ago when the frontcourt pair starred for the Delaware Sharpshooters AAU team. With Gumbs as a space-eating center with a knack for rebounding, Philmore was able to advance his midrange and outside game, a valuable asset at his size.
Philmore’s high school coach said the incoming freshman is more than ready for the challenge.
“He wants to be a great teammate and he wants to be part of something other than himself that is successful,” John Carroll head coach Tony Martin said. “One thing to remember is he came into a program here [at John Carroll] that had really gone from the bottom to the top in a short period of time. So when a coach would come to him and talk about a turnaround, I don’t think that was unrealistic in his mind. He’s an extremely competitive young man.”
While at John Carroll, he was named first team All-Metro by The Baltimore Sun in his junior season and then was named second team All-Metro following his senior year, in which he averaged 17.7 points on 63 percent shooting from the field, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while helping the Patriots to a 25-10 record. Playing at the high school level, Philmore became more prepared for the rigors of college basketball. He knows what is ahead, and he’s not scared of the task.
“Basketball is hard,” Philmore said. “It all looks glamorous and everything but you don’t see the extra hours and the extra toughness drills and the extra shooting.
“I’ve never been scared. I’m ready. I’m ready to take Towson to the top. I will never stop working until I succeed.”
Kennedy shares that sentiment and said he can be an impact-player from day one, much like freshman point guard Troy Franklin was last season. Kennedy credits Franklin for getting higher impact freshmen to the school and getting kids interested in playing for the Tigers.
“Troy Franklin was our first breakthrough. Troy was a kid that kind of broke that mold for us. Isaiah and Erique Gumbs, they are two of those Troy-level type freshmen,” Kennedy said. “Those three guys really are a bed-rock for our future. Philmore’s a winner. He’s coming here to win and he’s a guy that can make a difference in that.”
Kennedy said that Philmore may be the best freshman coming into the CAA next season and has the potential to see as many as 30 minutes a game to start his freshman season
“He’s just a big, strong kid who in our league I think will have a big impact.”
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