Isaiah Miles faced the toughest decision of his young life less than a year ago.

The 6-foot-7, 175-pounder was the subject of an all-out recruiting battle, but his choice essentially boiled down to two options: join an established power and battle for early playing time, or pick a lesser-known program and be the man from day one.

Miles, a Randallstown native, chose the latter scenario, but it had nothing to do with college. The 14-year-old basketball prodigy had just picked a high school, shunning overtures from most MIAA A conference programs for Glenelg Country, a B conference school with approximately 275 high school students.

“It was actually [stressful picking a high school]. A lot of schools wanted me,” Miles said. “It was a hard decision to pick one. [I picked Glenelg Country] because my mom likes the education. The academics are strong. And if I went to an A conference school, I would’ve played JV my freshman year. But I went to Glenelg and played varsity.”

In his freshman season, Miles averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game. He shot 46 percent from the field, leading GCS to a 12-11 record.

“People were very surprised [when I chose Glenelg Country]. They thought I was going to an A conference school,” Miles said. “[But I’m glad I picked GCS] because I actually did better than I thought I would do on varsity. I thought I wouldn’t play. Then I started and actually scored a lot.”

Next year Glenelg Country will return eight players from its nine-man rotation, including Miles and two other freshmen contributors from this season. According to Dragons head coach Charlie Stewart, Miles has already raised the profile of the fledgling basketball program.

“We want to be a flagship program for our school and let people know what a great school we are,” Stewart said. “We’re part of something much larger than the basketball program, and that, at the end of the day, is why Isaiah chose us. But having him has created a real buzz for our basketball program in the larger community with the press he’s received. [Playing as a freshman] has certainly brought attention to him, so it’s been a win-win for the school, our program and Isaiah.”

Miles will play for Nike Baltimore Elite this summer, which will undoubtedly raise his recruiting profile. He’s already receiving serious interest from Xavier, Oregon State and Providence, among others. Musketeers coach Sean Miller has already been out to Glenelg Country, Miles said. Stewart said college coaches have been enamored with many things about Miles’ game, but especially his tenacity on defense.

“That’s what I think makes him such a rare kid, his kind of basketball maturity,” Stewart said. “He understands the importance of playing hard on the defensive end. He’s one of the rare 14-year-old kids that I’ve coached that you don’t have to prod too much to give a great effort on the defensive end. I think that’s a testament to the type of kid he is. He’s a tough kid and he loves to win. Put all his physical gifts together, throw on top his mental toughness, competitiveness and willingness to work hard to improve, and that’s why we’re so excited about him. He’s already so far along. It’s very impressive.”

Glenelg Country associate head coach Geoff Reed served as the school’s junior varsity coach for eight years, and assisted Stewart in transitioning the program to the B conference after winning the C title three years ago. Reed said Miles is 6-7 now, but will “probably get up to the 6-9, 6-10 range.” The coaches have developed Miles’ perimeter game, and will continue to do so.

“He played a lot of 3 / 4. He wants to be more comfortable on the perimeter,” Reed said. “We run the dribble-drive offense. It’s basically the offense that Memphis runs with John Calipari. We run four guards out. So we’re really trying to improve his perimeter skills. We’ve got a couple other kids who play inside for us as well. We’d like to get him out on the wing a little more. He can really shoot the ball. He’s got 3-point range. He shot about 30 percent from three, which is pretty good for a big kid obviously.”

Miles said he couldn’t be happier with his decision to enroll at GCS. Basketball season went better than expected, he’s enjoying his academically-rigorous coursework, and he’s even assumed the role of Glenelg Country’s de facto recruiter, bringing him full circle to where he was less than a year ago.

“Actually, most of the top eighth graders, they want to play with me,” Miles said. “So I’m getting their attention to come and play with us to help us win a championship.”