Whitehead's Recruiting Revving Up

Lincoln H.S. star lists Kentucky, UCLA, Arizona, St. John's among suitors

Isaiah Whitehead is a consensus top-20 performer in the 2014 class and the schools interested in him prove he's on the right track. Kentucky, Arizona, UCLA, St John's, Syracuse and Pittsburgh have all gotten into the recruiting mix with the scoring guard.

"They all have good history and compete well," Whitehead said.

Whitehead stars for Lincoln High School in New York's P.S.A.L. league. He has the ability to fill up the scoring column and handle the rock, which has earned him praises as he figures to be the next big thing from the Railsplitters program. Lance Stephenson (Indiana Pacers) and Sebastian Telfair (NBA free agent) were the previous two.

Despite being wide open during the recruiting process, Whitehead does know what type of coach he'd like to play for.

"I'm looking for a down to earth coach," Whitehead said. "Whether I'm doing good or bad, I need a coach that won't kiss my butt."

In a world where players get pampered by coaches during their recruitment, Whitehead wants a coach that can get on him as much as praise him. He'll have a better feeling for this as time goes on. He doesn't plan to make any decision until two summers from now.

"End of junior year [I'll make my decision] ...  summertime so I'll get better understanding of them," Whitehead said. "I really don't know too much about recruiting, I'm just getting used to it."

The relationship he builds with the likes of Sean Miller, Ben Howland and John Calipari will have a huge impact on where the Brooklyn native lands. There are others factors that he will keep in mind too.

"They got to have the family atmosphere, the right game tempo," Whitehead said.

Right now, Whitehead excels in isolation situations. He has an almost-innate ability at creating scoring opportunities for him and his teammates. His perimeter jumper is dependable and he has developing playmaking skills.

"I like to get up and down, I think that's what fits my game the best.," Whitehead said.

To that end, John Calipari's dribble drive, Steve Lavin's full-court pressure and Jim Boheim's 2-3 zone to fast break attack seem like ideal fits.