NEW YORK — Kentucky coach John Calipari and Big Blue Nation shouldn’t have any doubts about Isaiah Briscoe’s confidence level when he joins the program this summer.
The kid from Newark is brimming with self-confidence.
So much so that he says he trash talks with Carmelo Anthony on text messages and is ready to take on the Knicks star in one-on-one. Of course, with Anthony sidelined after knee surgery, the game may have to wait awhile.
“It’s not so much advice [he gives me], it’s more like trash talking,” Briscoe said Friday night at the Jordan Brand Classic after he and Anthony spoke at mid-court following Briscoe’s 22-point, 6-rebound, 6-assist performance in the East’s 118-116 loss to the West. “I’m a competitor so I’m telling him we could play one-on-one whenever you ready.
“I’m always working out in your gym [Terminal 23] so whenever you’re ready you just let me know. We gotta make it competitive.”
Anthony gave a little back to Briscoe after the loss, telling him, “I don’t know how y’all lost” and “It wasn’t really too good to lose in your city.”
“It was just all fun and jokes and he just said whenever I’m ready to work out, just go work out,” Briscoe said. “He’s cool.”
Briscoe has always been a cocky, confident kid and the last year or so has not diminished his reasons for being so.
Last summer, he helped lead the USA U18 team to the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Colorado.
In July, he led NY Playaz to the coveted Peach Jam title in North Augusta, S.C.
After his recruitment amped up in the fall, he ended up signing with Kentucky over St. John’s and UConn.
Once he worked his way back from a broken foot at the end of last summer, he ended up leading Roselle (N.J.) Catholic to its second New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in three years — and Briscoe’s first.
During the season, Briscoe and his teammates beat Hall of Fame St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley not once, but twice.
And before he heads off to Kentucky, he plans to play with the U.S. U19 team at the World Championship in Crete, Greece.
Chris Brickley, the Knicks’ player development coach, was Briscoe’s trainer and trained him at Terminal 23. Briscoe has always known and practiced with NBA players, including former St. Benedict’s Prep guards J.R. Smith and Tyler Ennis, as well as Anthony, at Terminal 23 and other locations.
“I’m so competitive I need somebody to kill me,” he said. “I need somebody to be like, ‘You’re good but you’re not that good’ and I don’t think in the high school level anybody can really give me a challenge. I think I play the game with so much ease.”
Briscoe plans to continue working out with pros this summer to hone his game.
“When they start working out I’ll be in New York working out with the pros, just getting better is the main part,” he said. “I know those guards in the NBA, that’s where I’m trying to go so I can see where my game is at. I’m just trying to pick out every little thing they’re telling me and just try to get better in my game.”
Though Briscoe has been tight with Anthony and Smith, he said he doesn’t talk about the poor state of the Knicks, who are in the mix for the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and could take Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns, another New Jersey native.
“They did have a bad season and [Anthony] did get injured and things like that,” Briscoe said. “Even when J.R. was there, I never spoke about the team. It was more like a big brother/ little brother relationship. I could care less about [how] they’re playing [in] the NBA.”
Photo: Michael Lebrecht (The Players Tribune) & KySportsConnection.com
