FREE AND EASY
With major milestones behind him, Isaiah leads Lincoln to rout of ’Roos
WITH A city championship under his belt and his college decision already behind him, Lincoln senior basketball star Isaiah W hitehead’s mind is more relaxed than it was a season ago.
That’s dangerous for any team that has to play against him and t he deep Railsplitters, who dispatched Boys & Girls, 80-57, Saturday in Coney Island in a PSAL Brooklyn ‘AA’ matchup.
T he Seton Hall-bound Whitehead, who was named a McDonald’s A ll-A merican nom i nee du r i ng t he week, seems to be playing f reer, a s does fellow senior Desi Rodriguez, who also recently committed to Seton Hall and is also a candidate for the McDonald’s game.
Ea rly in t he f irst qua r ter Saturday, Whitehead set Rodriguez up for two straight thunderous alley-oop dunks t hat brought the raucous crowd to its feet.
“I think it’s more stress-free both for me and Desi,” said Whitehead, who had 20 points. “You see us j umping, smiling. We’re just having fun.”
A few weeks ago Whitehead was named co-MVP of the prominent City of Palms tou r na ment i n For t Myer s , Fla, where Lincoln took fifth place in a field that featured some of the nation’s top high school teams. In the quarterfinals, Lincoln took Florida’s Montverde Academy, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, to overtime before falling 74-70.
“It felt g reat ,” Whitehead said of the MVP honors. “Ever ybody ’s say ing I could be a potential McDonald’s AllAmerican and they tell me I have to play big in these tournaments. I had to show up, and I did.”
Whitehead’s teammate and close f r iend T homa s Holley, the All-American football star who’s played basketball with Whitehead since middle school, senses Whitehead’s relief.
“He’s hav ing f un,” Holley said. “Last year he took it more personal; this year he’s having a lot more fun. I’m having fun with it. We never thought we’d be here.”
Senior Elisha Boone, a McDonald’s nominee as well, had 21 points and Rodriguez had 12 as Lincoln moved to 7-0 in PSAL play.
The Railsplitters are favorites to repeat as city champions, with players like senior A.J. Williams and sophomore Rakym Felder a lso ma k ing huge impacts.
“I don’t think anybody can compete with us,” Whitehead said.