Long Beach State basketball lands Stanford point guard Isa Silva
LONG BEACH — The Long Beach State basketball program landed a high-end recruit on Wednesday when former Stanford point guard Isa Silva announced he has committed to transfer to LBSU after two seasons playing for the Cardinal.
“Coming into this spring, as a staff we identified the point guard position as our number one recruiting priority, and recruiting a point guard is all about finding the right fit,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said. “We believe Isa Silva is a perfect fit. He can help win games in a myriad of ways. Isa can score at all three levels, he is an elite passer and is a natural facilitator.
“He is not only a pure point guard. Isa has high-level playing experience with Jesuit High School, Compton Magic and Stanford. His charisma and character give him instant credibility as a leader as well. We truly believe he can help elevate our program to the next level.”
A consensus Top 100 recruit out of Jesuit High in Sacramento, Silva was ranked as high as No. 53 by ESPN, and he was recruited by Arizona, Gonzaga, Arkansas, Colorado, Texas and USC before choosing Stanford. Rated as the No. 2 player in California at that time, Silva averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists as a junior.
A regular part of the Stanford rotation over his two seasons there, the 6-foot-4 Silva averaged 13.5 minutes per game in 64 games (six starts). He averaged 3.3 points, 0.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.4 steals per game on 41.1% shooting from the field, 40.3% from 3-point range and 62% from the free-throw line.
This past season, as a sophomore, he averaged 3.2 points, 0.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.3 steals on 42.7% shooting from the field, 25% from 3-point range and 61.3% from the foul line but he was leapfrogged in the rotation and Stanford has a four-star point guard (Kanaan Carlyle) coming in so the potential for much future playing time was probably limited.
Silva’s best scoring games for the Cardinal were a pair of 12-point efforts against Santa Clara and Cal.