NEW YORK — On the eve of his unofficial visit to Indiana Sunday, Isaiah Whitehead put on a show in Brooklyn.
The 6-foot-4 Brooklyn Lincoln guard scored 26 points and earned co-MVP honors as Team Coney Island survived a late threat from Team Bed Stuy to win the Elite 24 game, 114-109, in a nationally televised game played under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Tyus Jones earned co-MVP honors for Team Coney Island, while Stanley Johnson and Emmanuel Mudiay, who announced for SMU at halftime, won the honors for Team Bed Stuy.
“I just wanted to show out,” Whitehead said. “This is my hometown. All these guys flew in, so I just wanted to show them what Brooklyn basketball is all about.”
Whitehead said he felt no pressure despite playing in front of a packed crowd in his home borough.
“I’ve dealt with pressure my whole life, so this is nothing to me now,” he said.
Whitehead was set to fly to Indiana on Sunday during a weekend when the Hoosiers will also host recently de-committed shooting guard James Blackmon, as well as Virginia shooting guard Robert Johnson and 2015 New Jersey wing Malachi Richardson.
In this recent video interview, Whitehead told SNY.tv he’s also considering Arizona, UCLA, Minnesota and Syracuse.
On this night, he served notice that he’s as good as any two guard in the nation.
“I showed them a lot, that I can compete against the best,” he said.
Looking ahead to his senior season, Whitehead dreams of playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game, and this performance certainly helped.
“Oh definitely,” he said. “McDonald’s All-American is my dream so hopefully I get chosen for it.”
Photo: Kelly Kline/UA
