Lincoln (Brooklyn) finds refuge in Palm Springs

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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Brooklyn has very little in common with Palm Springs. And that's just the way Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) basketball coach Dwayne Morton wanted it.

The calm, slow pace of Bob Hope's favorite city, the wide streets, the warm weather are all in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of New York.

"It's hard to concentrate in the city," Morton said. "This is a good chance to get away, get to know each other and play some good basketball."

They got off to an exceptional start in an 83-36 win over clearly over-matched Bishop Manogue (Reno, Nev.) in the first round of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Cathedral City High School.

Five players scored in double figures led by 6-foot-7 junior Tafari Whittingham, one of four transfers from other schools this season.

"This is a good chance for us to really get to know each other as well," Morton said.

The Railsplitters - great nickname by the way - looked in midseason form while starting the season with their seventh straight win.

Opposed to what many probably imagined - up-and-down, run-and-gun - Lincoln simply played hard and smart and with purpose.

The Railsplitters shared the ball. Showed superb depth and a keen sense of discipline. And Morton and his coaching staff were into the game and into their players every possessions.

Morton even bench Whittingham, a major Division I recruit, in the first two minutes for not blocking out.

"I'd give it a solid 'B,' " Morton said.

Said star sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead , one of three Lincoln players with 11 points, gave it an emphatic 'A.'

"I just think we played hard and do what we do," Whitehead said.

Whitehead is the next big thing at a school that produced Sabastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson, a pair of New York city prep legends. Both, like Whitehead, were guards who handled the ball abundantly.

Whitehead said he doesn't feel any pressure to live up to those two guys, even though he's considered one of the top players from the Class of 2014.

"Basically I just want to make a name for myself," Whitehead said. "With all respect, I don't want to be Sebastian Telfair or Lance Stephenson. I just want to be Isaiah Whitehead.

While all eyes are on him and Lincoln, the attention in the Cathedral City was more of curiosity. How differently is New York City basketball than California hoops?

"I think we maybe put out a little more tonight because we want to show people what we can do," Whitehead said.

They certainly saw a wave of talent and contributors.

Ian Vasquez had 12 points and Shaquille Davis and Rakim Lesane all had 11 points. Recent St. Patrick's transfer Dashawn Suber added nine points and four steals.

Lincoln recorded at least a dozen fastbreak hoops off defensive pressure. It's a staple of Morton's teams, which have won seven city and three state crowns. Telfair led the Nailsplitters to three straight crowns and Stephenson four.

They don't have that kind of dominating guard - yet - so balance and defense will have to do.

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) senior Xavier Johnson, one of the nation's top 100 recruits, was impressed with what he saw. His seventh-ranked team is all but penciled in to face Lincoln in the title game of the top Exhibition division on Friday. Pool play continues today and tomorrow.

Lincoln plays Skyline 5:30 p.m. today at College of the Desert. Skyline was defeated by two-time defending champion Harvard-Westlake.

"I wasn't really that surprised how good they are," he said. "They play hard and really get after it. But it's not something that we can't handle. We've seen it before."

Whitehead watched three quarters of Mater Dei's impressive 75-42 win over Burbank. Like Johnson, he was cautiously impessed.

"They move the ball around very well and shoot it well," Whitehead said of Mater Dei. "If we play our style and do what we do, I like our chances."

Morton's son, 6-foot junior Tre'vonn Morton, along with nephew Marquis Morton and cousin Kwame MortonKwame Morton are other players on the 13-man roster. Ethan Telfair, Sebastian's younger brother, did not make the trip for unspecified reasons.

Despite his absence, Lincoln didn't miss a beat.

"We're a long way from where we need to be," coach Morton said. "We're just a long way away period."