See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
The majority of the buzz around Seton Hall’s season is because of Isaiah Whitehead, but the talented freshman and former Abraham Lincoln basketball star has no desire to further feed the frenzy around him.
Whitehead, the Big East Newcomer of the Year and its highest-rated recruit, was rushed by waves of reporters, cameras and questions at the conference’s media day last week. He said the volume of reporters around him was unlike anything he had ever experienced, but he was resigned to it.
“I guess it had to happen, because all of you guys wanted to talk to me,” Whitehead said.
What everyone talking to him learned that day is what we here in Brooklyn already knew: Whitehead is not your ordinary freshman.
You aren’t going to bait him into saying something inflammatory. He knows how to handle the spotlight, on and off the court. Whitehead is about winning games, not winning headlines.
“I’m just trying to show my teammates it’s not all about me,” Whitehead said. “This is a team game.”
It is one of the things that has made his transition so smooth. Whitehead has seemingly taken the awkwardness away from the position of being asked to be the program’s face, leader, and star at a young age. His teammates praised him for how he’s handled himself.
“His composure,” said Pirates senior guard Haralds Karlis. “He’s always down to earth. He’s not a really flashy guy.”
There are moments Whitehead tries too hard, knowing the expectations that are on his shoulders to help Seton Hall reach the NCAA Tournament. Senior Brandon Mobley has told him to remember this isn’t high school, where he was the best player on the court on most occasions. Just being himself will be enough.
“Just be you,” Mobley said. “When you’re you, you’re are great.”
There is still a learning curve for Whitehead, especially defending without fouling. He can’t get away with the same physical play he could in the Public School Athletic League and he has to defend more screens, unlike the isolation style he was used to guarding.
Having high school teammate Desi Rodriguez, fellow freshman and friend Khadeen Carrington and former Railsplitters coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, as assistant at Seton Hall, in South Orange has eased the transition. But Whitehead knows it won’t be all smooth sailing.
“I think I am already adjusted,” Whitehead said. “At the same time, I know there is going to be some curves. There are some things I just don’t know when I am out there on the court.”
What we do know is that he is prepared to handle the bumps thanks to his experience in the spotlight leading Lincoln and the upbringing from his mother Ericka Rambert.
“I try to do the best I can in every position in of my life,” Whitehead said. “I think in high school I did a great job, why not college?”