The nominations for the McDonald’s All-American game were announced Tuesday morning, which in past years was an exercise in futility for the city.
This year, however, the four-year drought is expected to end.
Isaiah Whitehead, the Lincoln High School star and Seton Hall signee, is likely to be at Chicago’s United Center on April 2 for the prestigious all star game featuring the nation’s top 24 prospects, Scout.com national recruiting analyst Evan Daniels told The Post. Whitehead was one of nearly 1,000 basketball players nominated, 19 of them from the city.
“Isaiah Whitehead is a McDonald’s-caliber player, he’s a guy that should be in the game,” said Daniels, who has a vote on the participants in the showcase. “In my opinion, because of his production throughout his high school career, he earned the opportunity to play in that game.
“In my opinion, Isaiah Whitehead and [Minnesota prep star] Rashad Vaughn are the best two scorers and shooting guards in the 2014 class.”
The selections will be announced Jan. 29 on ESPNU.
The 6-foot-5 Whitehead is ranked 12th in the country in the Class of 2014 by Scout, 14th by Rivals and 20th by ESPN.
If selected, Whitehead would be the first city player to reach the game since JayVaughn Pinkston of Bishop Loughlin in 2010. He would be the first Seton Hall recruit to make the game since 2000 (Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett). He also would follow in the footsteps of Lincoln greats Lance Stephenson, Sebastian Telfair and Stephon Marbury, who played in the McDonald’s game.
Other notable nominees were Bishop Loughlin duo Khadeen Carrington and Mike Williams, who have committed to Seton Hall and Rutgers, respectively, and St. Joseph’s signee Shavar Newkirk of Cardinal Hayes. Highly ranked Syracuse-bound star Chris McCullough of IMG Academies in Florida wasn’t nominated because he’s in his fifth year of high school and ineligible as a result.