Isaiah Briscoe to Kentucky: What 5-Star Guard Brings to the Wildcats

One of the biggest names in the 2015 class took his name out of the recruiting rat race with guard Isaiah Briscoe's announcement Thursday that he will play next season at Kentucky.

"Everything about Kentucky made me want to attend the school," Briscoe said during ESPNU's Recruiting Nation college basketball announcement show.

Rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 point guard in the country, Briscoe chose the Wildcats over Connecticut and St. John's. Combined with the commitment Thursday of forward Skal Labissiere, Kentucky's 2015 class is expected to shoot high up the national rankings. 

Here's a look at what the 5-star prospect will bring to his future college team:

Position: Point guard

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 200 lbs

Rank/rating: No. 9 overall in 2015 class, 5 stars, via 247 Sports

What Makes Him Special

Unlike a lot of point guards coming out of high school, Briscoe seems ready to handle the rigors of the tougher college game because of a level of strength and stamina that has enabled him to succeed anywhere and everywhere he plays. Jerry Meyer of 247Sports told Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal that Briscoe plays "a grown man's style of basketball" that is very physical and not based solely on speed and finesse.

Recruiting website Future150.com's profile of Briscoe indicates he "has a great body and uses it to be explosive and make plays," which will make him a crowd favorite.

He led Roselle Catholic in New Jersey to a state title last season, then starred for Playaz Basketball Club when the travel team won the championship at the high-profile Peach Jam Tournament over summer. Briscoe also won gold with Team USA at the U-18 FIBA Americas Championship, but then a fractured foot kept him from participating in the Under Armour Elite 24 game in August.

Known as "Boogie," Briscoe has proven he is a winner and should continue to do so at the next level.

Where He Needs Work

Though he's played primarily at the point, Briscoe has spent time at shooting guard on the AAU circuit. That's enabled him to spend more time being just a pure shooter, but that's also an area where he still needs to improve, according to Rivals.com:

"At times his shot selection is poor which hurts his percentages some, but he is a skilled scorer who can shoot from deep or attack off the dribble," Rivals wrote on his recruiting profile."

The shot-selection issue feeds into another noted weakness of Briscoe's, that being decision-making:

"When he figures out how to avoid unnecessary one-on-five drives or contested treys, he'll become as efficient as he is productive with the ball in his hands," wrote Bleacher Report's Thad Novak.

2015-2016 Prediction

As an accomplished floor leader, Briscoe is going to be expected to contribute right away. He likely made his decision based on what kind of an impact he could have, and despite the fact Kentucky is constantly overloaded with talent, there's little doubt he'll be in the mix for the starting point guard position.

The Harrison twins and freshman Tyler Ulis are currently at Kentucky, but a few of those are likely to have gone pro by the time Briscoe arrives. However, he doesn't plan on signing his national letter of intent until April, saying "I just want to see how everything plays out. Who stays, who goes."

Long-Term Outlook

Based on super early projections, Briscoe doesn't figure to be NBA-ready after one season. Though he has good size, it's not the kind needed to be a point guard at the professional level so soon, which is probably why NBADraft.net does not have him listed on its 2016 mock draft.

Nine of that mock draft's top 20 picks are current high school seniors, but none are point guards.

Briscoe said on ESPNU that his decision to go to Kentucky was based on coach John Calipari's propensity for developing professional talent, particularly at point guard.

"Right now, Coach Calipari has a machine going on to get point guards to the NBA," Briscoe said.

It's more likely he'll play at least two years at Kentucky, more if his development is slowed by adapting to the tougher game. In the end, though, look for Briscoe to go down in program history as one of the best at his position.

Recruiting ranking information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.