Isaiah Whitehead and Archie Goodwin almost got a little too close for comfort Saturday night.
The pair sat next to each other on the bus en route to The Franchise Classic rain site, the South Bronx Job Corps, before exchanging trash talk and getting tangled up near the end of the first half of the all-star game, which pitted the top players in New York City against highly touted athletes from around the country.
Goodwin, an electric, 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Little Rock, Ark., drilled a 3-pointer in the Lincoln star’s face with 50 seconds left in the first half and barked at Whitehead while making hand gestures.
“He told me I was weak or something, I couldn’t hold him,” said Goodwin, ranked No. 4 in the country at his position in the Class of 2012. “I had to go at him, because I like taking on challenges like that. It’s all good. We’re not enemies or nothing. It was just in the heat of the game.”
On the next Team USA possession, Goodwin tried driving on Whitehead, but the two got tangled up. There were words exchanged, but cooler heads prevailed.
“I talked a little junk, but then I asked him if he was alright,” said the 6-foot-4 Whitehead, one of the top players in the Class of 2014.
The Brooklyn native got back at his out-of-state rival with four seconds left in the first half by throwing down a thunderous tomahawk dunk on a fast break.
“I had to show him what 2014 is about,” Whitehead said.
Goodwin ended up with 46 points and was named the MVP for Team USA. Whitehead finished with 16 points and his Team NYC won, 146-138. He said everything was cool afterward and he enjoyed riding on the opposing team’s bus after a driving rain hit Col. Young Park in Harlem, the original site of the game.
Goodwin said he had an equally good time in New York. He and his teammates have been here since Thursday and they got to see Ground Zero and the Apollo Theater along with New York City streetball staples Rucker Park and Dyckman.
“This was a great event,” Goodwin said. “I was happy to be a part of the first one. I hope they keep it going, because it was a great experience to come out here to New York and play in front of a crowd like this.”
Offers, visits still accumulating for McCullough: A few hours before competing in The Franchise Classic, Bronx native Chris McCullough picked up yet another offer, this one from Arizona. Add that to ones from Syracuse, St. John’s, Providence, Rutgers, Florida, Iowa State, Hofstra and Temple and it has been an incredible summer for the 6-foot-9 Class of 2014 star.
“I knew it was coming,” said McCullough, who attends the Salisbury School (Conn.) and plays AAU ball for Team SCAN. “My coaches told me to work hard and good things will come and they did.”
McCullough will miss the Battle of the Boroughs semifinals Saturday, because he’ll be on a visit to Syracuse with SCAN teammate Shavar Newkirk of Cardinal Hayes, according to SCAN coach Munch Williams. If the Bronx team wins Saturday, he’ll play Sunday in the final. A day after that, he, Newkirk and Conrad Chambers, also of Team SCAN, will visit Seton Hall.
It’s been that kind of summer for McCullough.
“I went from not being ranked to being ranked No. 11,” said the smooth wing, who had 10 points Saturday. “I need to keep working hard, trying to get ranked even higher.”
Notes: After MVP Omar Calhoun, who poured in 34 points, Kyle Anderson of St. Anthony (N.J.) had 28 points and St. Raymond’s Daniel Dingle added 14 points for Team NYC. Shaq Goodwin of Decatur, Ga., a 6-foot-8 powerhouse, had 31 points; 6-foot-8 Chris Walker of Bonifay, Fla., had 18 points; and recent Ole Miss commit Martavious Newby of Memphis, Tenn., had 17 points. … According to Scout.com, Goodwin is ranked No. 6 among power forwards in the Class of 2012 and Walker is ranked No. 3 among power forwards in the Class of 2013. … Villanova-bound forward Savon Goodman of Academy of the New Church (Pa.), who competed for Team NYC, had arguably the two best dunks of the game. … Jermaine Lawrence, Malik Nichols, Jevon Thomas, Kerwin Okoro and Daiquan Walker (Philadelphia) also competed for Team NYC.