A year ago, Isaiah Whitehead was spending his time on the South Orange, N.J., campus of Seton Hall preparing for the Pirates’ NCAA Tournament opener with Gonzaga.
Monday afternoon, the Nets rookie again planned to spend his time in South Orange — except this time it was to deliver words of wisdom before the ninth-seeded Pirates face eighth-seeded Arkansas on Friday, not to watch film for game-planning.
“They were there with me so there’s not a lot I have to tell them,” Whitehead said of his former teammates. “Really just telling them to play hard and keep doing what they’re doing, but it’s not over. Making the tournament is one thing. Winning is another.”
Whitehead learned that lesson the hard way last season.
After completing a stunning Big East Tournament run during which Whitehead averaged 23.3 points per game in being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, the Pirates struggled in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2006.
Seton Hall shot just 32.1 percent from the field and had no answer for the Bulldogs’ Domantas Sabonis in the paint in a 68-52 loss. This time, however, Whitehead thinks the Pirates have an opportunity to make a run. A win over the Razorbacks presumably will set up a matchup with North Carolina, the top seed in the South Region.
“I think they can do well as long as they can get past the first two games,” Whitehead said. “They can end up with UNC, so that’ll be a tough one. If they win those first two games, they’ll be in good shape.”
A main reason for Whitehead’s optimism is the team’s experience having played in last year’s tournament and the play of Khadeen Carrington and Angel Delgado.
Carrington has done his best Whitehead impression, averaging 16.9 points per game and becoming the Pirates’ go-to scorer down the stretch. Delgado, an All-Big East first-team selection, leads the nation in rebounding and has recorded double-doubles in 13 of the last 14 contests.
“They’re just playing confident,” Whitehead said. “They’re just playing their game, not thinking too much. They’re not under any pressure. It’s just about going out there and playing basketball. I think when you go out there with that free mind and free spirit, you just play your best.”