John Carroll senior Isaiah Philmore will stay in Maryland for college.

Philmore, a 6-7 swing forward, committed to Towson on Sunday, picking the Tigers over offers from George Washington, Oklahoma State, South Florida, Providence, St. Joseph’s, Temple, UMass, Central Florida and Michigan.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for him to be an impact student-athlete in their program,” John Carroll head coach Tony Martin said. “He can stay home, be close to his family and still get a quality education.”

Martin said Philmore, a three-star prospect, was intrigued by playing for a local program that has recently had a good deal of success on the recruiting trail.

“Well I definitely think they expect him to come in with [center recruit] Erique Gumbs, one of his AAU teammates [on the Delaware Sharpshooters],” Martin said. “[Philmore] felt the two of them along with [Mount Carmel graduate and freshman point guard] Troy Franklin in place and [junior guard] Josh Thornton and some other good players in the program can really start to turn this thing around. They definitely expect him to have an immediate impact as a freshman.”

Philmore led John Carroll in scoring as a junior, averaging 18.3 points per game in leading the Patriots to a 20-12 record. Martin said Philmore’s an energetic player who’s still expanding his game.

“Everything starts with his motor,” Martin said. “He’s such a high-energy kid. He’s extremely competitive and he refuses to lose. I think that he’ll bring that to any team he goes to and elevate his intensity level. Skill-wise, he’s evolving into a very good outside-in player. He’s always been an inside-out player. Hopefully he’ll get a chance to do his thing as a senior.”

Philmore joins Gumbs, Philadelphia shooting guard Will Adams and Montverde (Fla.) Academy power forward Nick Diatta as part of Towson’s 2009 recruiting class.

Photo of Isaiah Philmore courtesy of John Carroll.