Isaiah Wong and Miami (Fl.) are having a resurgent 2021-22 season after a down 2020-21. (Photo by Tessa Mortensen / Miami Athletics)
By Rob Rose
When Jim Larrañaga first watched Isaiah Wong while recruiting him he recalled seeing a skinny kid that could score the ball and loved playing basketball.
The University of Miami head coach needed to add a guard that could put up points with a pair of key players headed to the NBA at that time, and envisioned Wong working his way into a leader for the program.
While Wong’s talent was always evident, Larrañaga credits the Bonner-Prendie graduate’s work ethic for why in 75 games the 6-foot, 3-inch guard is 28 points away from reaching 1,000 points at Miami halfway through his third season and looks on the way to an NBA career of his own.
“I don’t think you can ever under-estimate the amount of passion that someone has for the game,” Larrañaga said.