This story appears in the SLAM Salt Lake City All-Star Edition. Published on February 17, 2023 at slamonline.com.
Nestled in the Sanpete County Valley sits Mount Pleasant, UT, whose population is just a fourth of the capacity of the University of Utah’s Jon M. Huntsman Center. The small central city is widely known for its 19th-century style architecture and hosting one of the country’s top high school teams. And in early July, the 16-year-old who is ranked by some as the nation’s fifth-best prospect in the class of 2025 decided to make “Hub City” his temporary home.
Walking around the 35-acre campus on a crisp January afternoon, Isiah Harwell explains his decision to leave his hometown of Pocatello, ID, in search of a greater challenge in Utah.
“Out there is family for real,” Harwell says of Idaho. “But the reason why we left was because we felt like there could have been better competition that I could’ve been playing against that would’ve pushed me to be better.”
After leading the Century Diamondbacks to the District Finals with averages of 18 ppg and 8 rpg during his freshman campaign, Harwell now finds himself lacing up against the nation’s best in the NIBC for Wasatch Academy. (READ THE FULL STORY HERE.)