No Whitehead, but rest of Hall’s new kids on display at Barclays

Friday night’s Jordan Brand Classic will feature 24 of the country’s elite basketball prospects, a display for the future of college basketball at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

It will also showcase Kevin Willard’s top-10 recruiting class at Seton Hall — the best class in nearly 15 years for the New Jersey school.

Though the crown jewel of the group, Lincoln High School shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead, won’t participate in the national game because of a hamstring injury, the regional game — featuring the best players from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania — will include the rest of the highly hyped quintet.

Bishop Loughlin guard Khadeen Carrington, high-flying forward Desi Rodriguez, Whitehead’s Lincoln teammate, and Newark East Side (N.J.) wing Ismael Sanogo will play for the city team, while bruising top-50 forward Angel Delgado of The Patrick School (N.J.) will be on the away team.

“I think it’s a great thing, they’re all really excited,” Willard said in a phone interview. “This is a good group of guys coming in who are motivated. They really want to prove something.

“They’re all talented, they all bring a different dynamic. What I’m most excited about is their attitude. They really want to come in with the guys who are returning and take them to the next level. That’s all they’re talking about. They really want to elevate the program.”

This won’t be their only opportunity playing together before arriving at Seton Hall. Carrington, Delgado, Whitehead and Rodriguez are scheduled to play in the Capital City Classic in Virginia Apr. 26, though Whitehead will likely not participate because of his injury. They will be coached there by Lincoln’s Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, who is expected to be named to Willard’s staff this summer, before arriving at Seton Hall in July for the summer-school session.

“They want to build something special,” Willard said. “They want to be a special group.”

The key, unquestionably, is the 6-foot-5 Whitehead, a scoring dynamo ranked as high 12th in the country by Scout.com. Willard thinks the Coney Island dynamo has the talent and drive to be a one-and-done prospect, and at the most will need two years before entering the NBA.
“He’s got what it takes to do that,” Willard said.


Despite Whitehead’s absence, the Jordan Brand national game will still have a distinct local flavor. Bronx product Chris McCullough, a Syracuse signee who attends IMG Academy in Florida, and New Jersey forward Karl Towns of St. Joseph-Metuchen, who is headed to Kentucky, will be featured.