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Lobo basketball has struck recruiting gold in southern California several times before.

Why stop now?

Richard Pitino and crew were more than happy to take another dip in the Inland Empire鈥檚 deep pool of basketball talent to land their first recruit of the 2025 class.

Issac Williamson 鈥� a 6-foot-1, 190-pound combo guard who plays for the highly regarded Compton Magic travel team and at Eastvale, California power Eleanore Roosevelt High School 鈥� gave his verbal commitment to play for Pitino and the Lobos next season.

The high school senior posted the news Tuesday on social media 鈥� less than a week after he, his parents, and one of his coaches made an official recruiting visit in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 late last week.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l see a dog 鈥� tenacious on defense with a really smooth, pretty shot. He can make shots,鈥� said Issac Williamson Sr., the father of the newest Lobo who has coached basketball in the past, including crossing paths with former Lobos such as Kendall Williams, Jemarl Baker Jr., Tony Snell and Tony Danridge.

鈥�(Issac Jr.) is a kid that wants to win, whatever it takes to win. He鈥檚 the kid who will dive on the floor,鈥� he father said. 鈥淗e鈥檒l run through a brick wall for Pitino 鈥� 100% effort every game.鈥�

Williamson, whose recruitment has elevated since the end of his junior season as he鈥檚 continued turning heads as one of the best all-around players in the region, had more than a dozen Division I scholarship offers, including from Washington, Nevada and Colorado State, to name a few.

On his official visit, his dad said some of his son鈥檚 time was spent playing basketball and hanging out with fellow Inland Empire Lobo players Donovan Dent and Quinton Webb, who is a fellow former Compton Magic player. That duo, dad said, helped convince his son he didn鈥檛 need to take any more recruiting visits.

The Lobos鈥� ties to the Compton Magic are strong.

鈥淚 love the way Coach Pitino gives his players 鈥榝reedom鈥� on the floor,鈥� said Etop Udo-Ema, co-founder and CEO of Compton Magic, when asked about that long-standing relationship. 鈥淚 also trust him with our guys. It鈥檚 an easy deal if there is a fit.鈥�

Udo-Ema had high praise for the player the Lobos are getting.

鈥淚ssac Williamson is one of the top two-way players in the class of 2025 and probably one of the most under-appreciated guards in the whole country,鈥� Udo-Ema said. 鈥�(He) comes from a great high school and amazing AAU culture. He should be an immediate impact player.鈥�

From a more neutral observer, Williamson was named the as a junior this past season by Tarek Fattal, senior reporter for SBLive sa国际传媒官网网页入口.

Described by his high school coach Stephen Singleton as a 鈥渄isruptor鈥� in Fattal鈥檚 coverage, Williamson often had the primary defensive assignment for his team.

Fattal notes Williamson held five-star, national No. 1 or No. 2 overall recruit Brandon McCoy of St. John Bosco High School (Bellflower, California) to 13 points in a key win for Roosevelt.

Williamson averaged 12.6 points and 1.6 steals as a junior at Roosevelt and is teammates with several highly recruited Division I-level players.

UNM coaches aren鈥檛 allowed to discuss recruits until they鈥檝e signed a National Letter of Intent. The first day for Class of 2025 basketball recruits to do so is in the early signing period, which this year will be Nov. 13-20.

THAT鈥橲 THE TICKET: Tickets are on sale for the Lobos鈥� Nov. 8 neutral court game with UCLA in Henderson, Nevada.

The game, the second in a doubleheader event called Las Vegas Hoopfest that will feature Arizona State and Santa Clara in the first game, will be played at the Lee鈥檚 Family Forum, which has a new name from last year when the Lobos went 4-0 in that building with neutral court wins over Toledo, Rice, Pepperdine and Santa Clara.

Tickets, which start at $31, are being sold at by searching 鈥淗oopfest.鈥�