Isaiah Whitehead scores 52, G-League season high, in big win

Distractions don’t seem to bother Isaiah Whitehead.

After a week when he was named in a Yahoo! Sports report on the NCAA basketball recruiting scandal, the 22-year-old stepped on the court in Greensboro and scored 52 points to set a new Long Island Nets single game record. Whitehead’s total topped the 42 points Milton Doyle scored on February 3 which in turn had topped Jeremy Senglin’s 40 points recorded the week before.

It was also the G-League season high. Long Island has now won four of its last five as it makes a big end-of-the-season playoff run.

Whitehead shot 19-of-29 overall, 4-of-8 from three and went to the line 12 times, making 10. He added five rebounds, three assists and four steals in 38 minutes. He also hit two free throws with three seconds left to seal the deal. Here’s the G-League highlight video of his performance...

Earlier this week, Whitehead was named in a Yahoo! Sports report on the burgeoning NCAA college recruiting scandal. Whitehead reportedly received more than $36,000 as a “loan” from NBA agent Andy Miller while a freshman at Seton Hall, a violation of NCAA rules, according to the report. Seton Hall has hired a New York law firm to look into the issue but Whitehead has had no comment on the revelation. In addition to the NCAA, the FBI is looking into the larger issue.

Post-game, Whitehead tweeted out his reaction.

Doyle also had a big game for Long Island with a double-double, 21 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and two steals. Senglin had 16 points and the Nets two-way, James Webb III finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Over the last two games, Webb has tallied 35 points and 25 rebounds. Kamari Murphy who played with Whitehead at Lincoln High in Coney Island, had seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

The game was close throughout but Whitehead kept the Nets in it. He had 16 at the end of the first quarter, 29 at the half and 35 at the three-quarter mark. As the game tightened in the fourth, the Nets went to the Brooklyn native repeatedly and he scored 17 in the quarter, including the final two points at the line.

The Nets assigned Whitehead to Long Island Saturday night. No word if he’ll be back for the Bulls game Monday.

• Game Report: Long Island Nets 125, Greensboro Swarm 122 (with Video) - G-League
• Full Game (Video) - G-League