It’s the biggest game of what has been a memorable season for Isaiah Whitehead. But for the first time, he looks like a freshman. His shot isn’t falling. He’s turning the ball over. And even worse, Lincoln is trailing Cardozo in the PSAL Class AA semifinals, down four points with less than three minutes remaining.
Yet this is when the latest Coney Island dynamo shows why many consider him Lincoln’s next great talent, following in the renowned footsteps of Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson.
Whitehead forgets about his struggles.
He sneaks in for a putback. He plays lockdown defense. He sinks two clutch free throws, extending a one-point lead to three. He grabs the clinching rebound and instead of holding onto it and getting fouled he flings the ball towards center court as time expires, a heady play most seniors won’t even make.
Afterward, amid his jubilant teammates, Whitehead explains the final moments mundanely, in his matter-of-fact way. If he’s nonchalant, he doesn’t mean to be. It’s just that Whitehead has done this all before, through the season’s first three months. He’s played poorly and finished with a flourish, particularly in big games.
There was a road win at Robeson when he scored 12 of his 15 points in the final quarter, had a breakout final stanza in an early-season win over rival Thomas Jefferson and in the Brooklyn borough finals, he had nine of his 15 in the final eight minutes, snuffing out a Jefferson rally. In the PSAL Class AA quarterfinals, with Lincoln struggling to put away Forest Hills, Whitehead hit the game’s biggest shot, a 3-pointer to extend a three-point lead to six late in the fourth quarter.
Clearly, he’s shown an uncanny ability to forget past failures, a quality many seniors lack.
“I just come through when I need to come through in big games,” said Whitehead, a 6-foot-4 combo guard who averaged 14 points, five rebounds and three assists per game during the regular season and is ranked seventh nationally in the Class of 2014 by TheHoopScoopOnline. “The fourth quarter is when the best players come out.”
Whitehead’s teammates notice an intense focus late in games. Quiet and unassuming by nature, he is even more silent when the fourth quarter comes around, his concentration at a fever pitch the tighter the contest and louder the crowd.
“You can see the fire in his eyes,” said Lincoln senior Shaquille Stokes, who played one season with Stephenson.
The only non-senior in coach Dwayne (Tiny) Morton’s starting lineup, Whitehead earned the respect of his peers and his coach through his steady work ethic, poise under pressure and humble nature despite the hype before his first varsity game. Whitehead attended as many PSAL games as he could while he was in middle school as preparation for varsity basketball. He would sit in the back row, so he could take in everything.
“He thinks like a senior,” said close friend and teammate Michael White, a senior himself.
When school began in September, classmates often approached, comparing him to the school’s greats. Whitehead, White said, would smile, say thank you and just tell them, “I’m here to play basketball and be Isaiah Whitehead.” He’s pleased by the compliments, but not in awe of them, taking every game as it comes.
He credits Stokes for his development and ability to shine, saying defenses are keying on the senior. Morton said Whitehead is the team’s “glue guy,” a rare reference for a freshman, because he listens intently and does whatever is needed, whether it’s rebounding, defending, distributing or scoring.
“He just knows how to play basketball,” the coach said. “He’ll be a great point guard one day. With some pounds, some strength, he’s a Jason Kidd clone to me.”
Morton coaches Telfair and Stephenson, so he obviously knows a thing or two about basketball prodigies. Making clear it’s simply a projection, he said Whitehead could be Lincoln’s greatest player, but in a subtle way. He doesn’t score like Stephenson, he isn’t flashy like Telfair and he isn’t the star Marbury was.
“Sebastian was the spotlight, Lance grabbed the spotlight and this kid is gonna gradually [be in the spotlight],” Morton said.
Of course, for the previous Lincoln superstars, attention came with championships. Marbury, Telfair and Stephenson all enjoyed success at the Garden, particularly the latter two who combined to win seven city titles.
Sunday is Whitehead’s turn.
“Being a freshman and getting to MSG is big, it’s not a long list of players who did that,” he said. “But I’m one of them.”