Whitehead Adds USBWA All-District II Honors

March 8, 2016

Two days after being named one of four unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team, Seton Hall's Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has yet another accolade to add to his growing collection as the standout sophomore was one of 10 players selected to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District II Team on Tuesday.

The Hall's first All-BIG EAST First Team performer since 2007-08, Whitehead becomes just the seventh different Pirate to earn a spot on the USBWA All-District Team and joins Brian Laing (2008) and Andre Barrett (2004) as the only individuals in program history to garner All-Conference First Team and All-District honors in the same season.

The All-District II Team is comprised of student-athletes representing institutions in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

In just his second year in South Orange, the Brooklyn native delivered one of the finest seasons by a Pirate in recent memory - finishing among the top-five in the BIG EAST in scoring (20.0 ppg, second), assists (5.5 apg, third), blocks (1.7 bpg, third) and 3-pointers made (2.9 3FGM/game, first) during conference play while finishing as the team-leader in each category for the season.

With Whitehead at the helm of a young core, the Pirates capped an ascendant close to the regular season with their ninth win in the last 11 outings, downing DePaul, 80-66, on Saturday behind a career-high 33 points from the former McDonald's All-American.

A BIG EAST All-Rookie Team selection last season, Whitehead appeared in all 30 games this season, starting 29, and is part of a sophomore class that has guided Seton Hall back to national prominence. The Hall heads into this week's 2016 BIG EAST Tournament presented by the Jeep brand (March 9-12) as the third-seeded squad in the 10-team field after finishing at 22-8 overall with a 12-6 mark in league play. The 22 wins are already the most for SHU since the team posted a 22-10 final record in 1999-00 and the 12 conference victories match the third-highest total for the program since joining the BIG EAST as a founding member over three decades ago.

As the No. 3 seed, the Pirates have earned an automatic berth in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament and are scheduled to meet No. 6 Creighton Thursday at 9:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on FS1 and Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network through the Seton Hall Gameday Live app.

2016 USBWA ALL-DISTRICT II TEAM

NY, NJ, DE, DC, PA, WV

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Josh Hart, Villanova

COACH OF THE YEAR

Jay Wright, Villanova

ALL-DISTRICT TEAM

Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova

Deandre Bembry, Saint Joseph's

A.J. English, Iona

Michael Gbinije, Syracuse

Josh Hart, Villanova