Top players transfer out of Coronado, Gorman basketball

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019 | 12:02 p.m.

Two of the Las Vegas area’s best high school basketball players announced this week that they are transferring out of state.

Bishop Gorman senior post player Isaiah Cottrell on Monday left for Huntington Prep in West Virginia, the college prep school posted on Twitter. The 6-foot-10 Cottrell averaged 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots per game last season, and was a force on the inside during the playoffs as Gorman beat Clark for an eighth consecutive state championship.

Cottrell is verbally committed to West Virginia University — hence the move.

Coronado sophomore point guard Richard Isaacs, who ESPN ranks as its 17th overall recruit for 2022, announced today he is leaving for Wasatch Academy in Utah. The backcourt of Jaden Hardy, a top recruit nationally for 2021, and Isaacs may have been enough for Coronado to threaten Gorman’s dynasty, especially without Cottrell in the middle.

But Gorman is still the clear favorite in the state, and even more so with the Isaacs departure. Gorman will be led by top seniors Noah Taitz and Mwani Wilkinson, both of whom have major college recruiting offers, and junior guard Zaon Collins, who averaged 10 points and seven assists per game last season.

Other notable Las Vegas area players left earlier in the offseason.

Clark’s Frankie Collins, who averaged 11 points and four assists per game for the state runners-up, left for AZ Compass Prep in Arizona. Coronado’s Jhaylon Martinez, who is verbally committed to UNLV, left Coronado after one season for a prep school in Arizona.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21