The line formed quickly Wednesday morning, the moment Big East Media Day began, a jumble of reporters and photographers elbowing their way to the front of the scrum, all wanting the chance to speak to and get pictures of the Big East’s next big thing, Brooklyn’s Isaiah Whitehead, the player Seton Hall hopes can lead the Pirates to the top of the league one day.
The 6-foot-4 freshman shooting guard, the highest-rated recruit to pick Seton Hall since Eddie Griffin in 2000, smiled and talked team first, answering questions for the better part of two hours. His award, selected by the conference’s coaches as its preseason newcomer of the year, is only a prediction. And he handled the hoopla at Madison Square Garden like a well-schooled senior.
“It’s crazy, I never witnessed anything like this, everybody asking me questions,” the Coney Island product said, sounding like a freshman but acting otherwise. “You have to get used to it.”
This maturity isn’t new to Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, his Pirates teammates or those who watched him follow in the footsteps of Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson at Lincoln High School, develop into a McDonald’s All-American and top 10-ranked high school prospect. He entered Lincoln with pressure, just as he does at Seton Hall, one of the most recognizable names in the conference before his first game.
“I think it’s very similar,” said Whitehead, who will evaluate his NBA prospects after the season. “Coming into Lincoln I had a great supporting cast and I feel here I have the supporting cast with all these guys. I think I’m already adjusted, but at the same time I know there will be some curves, some things I just don’t know when I’m out there on the court.
“That’s why I have these guys next to me,” he said, pointing to seniors Brandon Mobley and Haralds Karlis, “to show me the ropes, learn the game, tell me what to do to get over that turning point.”
Mobley heard the buzz about Whitehead last year, after Whitehead selected Seton Hall over St. John’s and a plethora of other major Division I programs. Mobley was excited about a new talent joining the program, but expected to see a cocky freshman this summer. Instead, he got a quiet kid who has deferred to the team’s upperclassmen, just as happy to make the extra pass as take the shot.
“He’s not a ‘me, me, me’ kid,” Willard said. “He’s going to share the basketball — he shares his gear, he shares everything. He’s a very unselfish young man.”
Mobley didn’t blink when Willard opted to bring Whitehead to media day, which is generally reserved for upperclassmen.
“When you got one like that, you bring him,” Mobley said. “He’s done this before.”
Whitehead has brought hype to a program in need of a boost because of his ability on a basketball court and his limitless range, not intangibles. Willard has seen NBA ability — it’s more about when he goes pro not if, the coach said — and nine NBA scouts have already passed through Seton Hall.
“I love the fact he can play multiple positions. I love the fact he doesn’t dominate the ball,” Willard said. “I knew he could shoot the basketball good, but he’s really surprised me in how well he can shoot the basketball.”
Whitehead spent most of Wednesday morning talking about his team, praising his backcourt mates Sterling Gibbs and Jaren Sina, emphasizing his goal is to win and not worry about his NBA timetable. He feels Seton Hall “definitely” can reach the NCAA Tournament, despite its projection to finish sixth in the Big East. That fazes him about as much as Wednesday’s media crush and means as much as his preseason award.
“It’s just a prediction right now,” Whitehead said. “We’ll see during the season.”