MIAMI (May 19, 2017) – FIU men's basketball Head Coach Anthony Evans announced today the signing 6-foot-5, guard Isaiah Banks from Conyers, Georgia (Heritage High School), to a National Letter of Intent during the recent spring signing period. Banks joins 6-foot-5, guard Josh Stamps from Chicago, Illinois (Trinity Valley C.C/Curie Metropolitan H.S.), who signed his NLI during the early signing period in November and 6-foot-6, guard Willy Nunez from Orlando, Florida (Indian River State College/Oak Ridge High School), who also signed in April. The trio is expected to contribute immediately during the 2017-18 season.

"When you think about high level student-athletes, this is what you have in Isaiah, said Evans. "He gets it done in the classroom at a high level as well as on the hardwood. He is tremendous young man, with a great sense of humor to match. Isaiah, is a freakish athlete that will have you shaking your head. He has a very nice skill set to go along with his athletic ability, he shoots the ball well and he's very unselfish, has a very good feel for what he is doing. He will be valuable piece to the university and the men's basketball program."

Banks comes to FIU after a storied career at Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia. During his four years at Heritage, Banks poured in 1,318 points and grabbed 619 rebounds. He also dished out 143 assists and recorded 138 steals for the Patriots.

As a senior, Banks averaged 17.1 points-per-game and hauled down 5.2 rebounds-per-outing, while also logging 2.1 assists- and 2.0 steals-per-contest. As impressive as his senior statistics were, Banks, an athletic backcourt player, may be best known for his backboard-shattering dunk that made him an internet sensation in January 2017. The play was named ESPN Sportscenter's No. 1 Play of the Day on January 11, in addition to the No. 2 Dunk of the Year – second only to Spartanburg (S.C.) Day School's Zion Williamson – and the No. 9 Play of the Year by MaxPreps.



Following his senior campaign, Banks was named Heritage's Most Valuable Player and was a first team all-state selection by the Georgia Coaches Association. He was also named the Georgia-Alabama All-Star Game Slam Dunk Champion.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and at Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.