Heathwood Hall Episcopal School (Columbia, SC) point guard Josh Caldwell joined the Army Black Knights recruiting class of 2017 and he recently returned from his official to West Point on October 13th -16th [attended the Elite camp June 18-19].

“What drew me to commit was most of my family was in the military, including my father and grandfather,” said the 6-foot-1, 175 pounder, who has a very impressive vertical leap and attacking ability to the basket.

“They [coaching staff] called me just about every day and were at most of my AAU games and the life after basketball is just amazing. It is also one of the top colleges in the world.”

Army was Caldwell’s only offer, but he had been receiving various levels of interest from the likes of Furman, Wofford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Loyola, South Carolina, along with Richmond, Dartmouth, Coastal Carolina, Harvard and Norfolk State.

Newly appointed head coach Jimmy Allen, along with Assistant Coach Wilkins have been handling Caldwell’s recruiting and according to the newcomer it was a group phone call with Coach Allen and Coach Wilkins when he extended his verbal pledge to become a Black Knight.

“I talked to coach Wilkins yesterday,” added Caldwell. “They were happy that I came up on the official and they were really pleased and are excited for our journey at West Point and excited for the future of West Point basketball.”

During his junior year at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, he average 17.0 ppg, 6.2 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. So, it’s no wonder that his favorite player in the NBA is someone who combo-style game.

“My favorite Russell Westbrook and he is a complete beast and he can absolutely just do it all he controls the game and he can score the ball at all 3 levels, with also being a point guard,” explained Caldwell.

So, when we said to Caldwell that Westbrook is truly going to have to do all the aforementioned things that he stated are a part of his arsenal with Kevin Durrant now with the Golden State Warrior, the future Black Knight just laughed. “This season is very interesting,” said the prep-bound Caldwell making reference to the NBA season, which is just around the corner.

NOTE: The Army Black Knights kicked things off on Wednesday, as the club hosted Media Day as their 2016 is just around the corner. Although the team reached the post season for the first time since 1978, Coach Allen and his staff will have to replace several key members who like Tanner Plomb, Kyle Wilson, Dylan Cox and Kevin Ferguson.

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