Whitehead

radecicco

All-Conference
Jun 24, 2013
1,057
1,673
113
He was great the entire BET but Carrington was the scoring leader the first two games. (Of course Whetehead made the play of the game vs Creighton by snaring an offensive rebound off a missed FT landing on his rear end in the process but sealing the win.) Against NOVA in the championship game he was superb. The Garden was electric, one of the best SHU game environments I’d ever been at and I’ve attended plenty over the years. (The icing on the cake was the pep band playing the SHU fight song out on 7th Avenue!)
 

Fishjam

All-Conference
Mar 27, 2016
1,116
3,710
113
Zeke brought the Hall back in just 2 seasons and raised the standard that led to 6 NCAAT appearances in 7 years and 9 straight seasons of .500 or better BE record.

His run in the 2nd half of his Sophomore season was as dominant as any I've seen in a Pirate uniform. Culminated in the tremendous upset in the BE Championship and his memorable huge 3-point play to win it.

Great all-time Pirate.
 

Seton75

All-Conference
Jun 3, 2001
37,007
3,487
113
Zeke brought the Hall back in just 2 seasons and raised the standard that led to 6 NCAAT appearances in 7 years and 9 straight seasons of .500 or better BE record.

His run in the 2nd half of his Sophomore season was as dominant as any I've seen in a Pirate uniform. Culminated in the tremendous upset in the BE Championship and his memorable huge 3-point play to win it.

Great all-time Pirate.
He was a great one. I watched Khadeen play a few games in HS and was thrilled we got him. Then we get Angel! Never believed we had a shot at Isaiah, till Dan said we got him. Too bad we didnt yet know how good Desi and Ish were.

I remember the Wichita away game in his frosh yr. Zeke came out dominating. Till Sina thru a bad pass, lead to a pick 6, the arena erupted and they buried our young team.

Would love to see Zeke connected again to SHU
 
Mar 13, 2021
319
394
63
Zeke brought the Hall back in just 2 seasons and raised the standard that led to 6 NCAAT appearances in 7 years and 9 straight seasons of .500 or better BE record.

His run in the 2nd half of his Sophomore season was as dominant as any I've seen in a Pirate uniform. Culminated in the tremendous upset in the BE Championship and his memorable huge 3-point play to win it.

Great all-time Pirate.
Start of a great era of Pirates basketball.
 
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Halldan

All-American
Staff member
Jan 1, 2003
185,963
9,017
113
His sophomore season when down the stretch he was arguably the best player in the nation saved Willard's job. The previous season, which did not end well to say the least put Willard squarely on the hot seat and he was given one more year to turn the program around.
 

Halldan

All-American
Staff member
Jan 1, 2003
185,963
9,017
113
I asked a person who everyone here would know in a high position of authority how close was Willard to being fired after Whitehead's freshmen season? He told me that Willard had to answer all the questions posed to him in such a manner that he would be given one more year to right the ship.

After that season he told me quote unquote that Whitehead saved Willard's job that year.
 

NYShoreGuy

All-Conference
Jan 7, 2006
2,570
1,175
113
His sophomore season when down the stretch he was arguably the best player in the nation saved Willard's job. The previous season, which did not end well to say the least put Willard squarely on the hot seat and he was given one more year to turn the program around.

Had a rough game vs st johns and of course gonzaga.

If gonzaga is a different result he has a different result in the draft
 

NYShoreGuy

All-Conference
Jan 7, 2006
2,570
1,175
113
He ultimately is a poor man's baron Davis about baron's size not a true natural point but crafty vs college competition not a reliable J which was his downfall in nba and that he went to Brooklyn for marketing ploy when they had no real foundation of a program.

Has a special/magical 3 days at msg for bet but a junior year at shu would have changed his draft chances.
 

NYShoreGuy

All-Conference
Jan 7, 2006
2,570
1,175
113
Some more data context

The 98-99 st johns squad was the last group in big east history to have 6 players average double digit ppg. 15-16 shu technically had 3 if you round up you have 4 (AD)

Gordon was 8ppg and ish 5ppg so group of 6 was really 5 double digit scorers
 

PirateBlue08

Senior
Jul 25, 2025
1,047
952
113
Hypothetical hot take

If myles powell was 1 year earlier shu is a final 8/borderline final four team
I thought we could've been that the covid year with the two seven footers. I thought that would be our year. One of our only years with legitimate size and bucket-getters and the damn pandemic cancels our chances.

Whitehead against Gonzaga was one of the other times I felt SHU had to be cursed. Seeing him breathing through an oxygen cannula on the bench was almost unbelievable. After that BET, of course we had to draw a Denver first round game and fizzle like a candle in a nor'easter.
 
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sobo1

Senior
Oct 15, 2023
375
963
93

One of the most influential? No. THE most influential. Without Whitehead none of it happens - no Powell, no BigEast championships, no springboard to Willard's career, no Mamu, etc.

Whitehead saved the program. His impact cannot be overstated. Also, to piggy back on Dan's comment in all my year's watching The Hall I have never seen a player as dominant as Whitehead second half of sophomore year. He was on another planet.
 
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HallLine69

Heisman
Aug 24, 2001
10,596
10,858
112
Great player for us, I agree with all the comments above about his importance to our successful runs. He also impressed me with the love and respect he showed for his mother, a commuter bus driver. I remember him being quoted as saying "I just have to get her out of that bus." As a result, he hurt his own development a bit by skipping his final year and prematurely jumping to the NBA. But he demonstrated his character. I'd love to see him back at the Hall as an assistant someday.
 

dehere23

All-Conference
Feb 28, 2015
1,853
2,140
113
Great player for us, I agree with all the comments above about his importance to our successful runs. He also impressed me with the love and respect he showed for his mother, a commuter bus driver. I remember him being quoted as saying "I just have to get her out of that bus." As a result, he hurt his own development a bit by skipping his final year and prematurely jumping to the NBA. But he demonstrated his character. I'd love to see him back at the Hall as an assistant someday.
Agree with the sentiments expressed in these last two posts.

And him leaving when he did likely worked out best for all parties involved.
 
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shurup86

Sophomore
May 19, 2026
74
133
33
I talked Isaiah Whitehead at “City of Palms Tournament” at Bishop Verot HS in Ft Myers,FL.He was really friendly he introduced me to Desi Rodriquez (I was told by Desi “I am going to Seton Hall”. Isaiah and Desi dominated the Tournament that year vs high national caliber players. Isaiah is one my favorite Pirate players.
 

dehere23

All-Conference
Feb 28, 2015
1,853
2,140
113
Why best for all, out of curiousity?
Because he obviously was NIL before NIL, and when the Andy Miller stuff started to come out, back when college basketball actually had rules for those sorts of things, it led me to conclude it was probably best for everyone that he left after his sophomore year to take that NBA money. If he stays, maybe he plays himself into a guaranteed 1st round deal/money, but maybe not given his profile as a player and how that translated to the NBA. While we of course would have benefited from having IW as a junior, who knows what the ramifications could have been given the Andy Miller stuff plus whatever the hell Tiny was doing. It would be just like the NCAA to crack down on a place like Seton Hall. And we were able to parlay the success of the BE tourney run into 6 years of better recruiting and stability under Willard, becoming a perennial NCAA team. IW ended the 10-year drought, and we were able to basically live in the top half of the Big East and get into the NCAA until Willard left.
 

NYShoreGuy

All-Conference
Jan 7, 2006
2,570
1,175
113
Because he obviously was NIL before NIL, and when the Andy Miller stuff started to come out, back when college basketball actually had rules for those sorts of things, it led me to conclude it was probably best for everyone that he left after his sophomore year to take that NBA money. If he stays, maybe he plays himself into a guaranteed 1st round deal/money, but maybe not given his profile as a player and how that translated to the NBA. While we of course would have benefited from having IW as a junior, who knows what the ramifications could have been given the Andy Miller stuff plus whatever the hell Tiny was doing. It would be just like the NCAA to crack down on a place like Seton Hall. And we were able to parlay the success of the BE tourney run into 6 years of better recruiting and stability under Willard, becoming a perennial NCAA team. IW ended the 10-year drought, and we were able to basically live in the top half of the Big East and get into the NCAA until Willard left.
Andy Miller now with klutch...

Andy miller screwed telfair when he was with suns...clearly tiny and that circle steered whitehead to miller
 
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