High school basketball: Wilhite is 'The King Crusader' heading into CIF Open game at De La Salle

There's a pretty famous NBA player who goes by the moniker "The King," but even LeBron James didn't grow up with it as a tyke.

Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) junior basketball and football standout King-Njhsanni Wilhite has never wavered from his name. He relishes his namesake and wears it well while setting an example for his younger brothers Prince and Duke.


It's cries heard by scorers at every level of basketball, even legends like Iverson, Bryant and Curry.

"I trust my work," said Wilhite, a 6-foot-1, 173-pound guard. "Every time I shoot I do so with supreme confidence because of all the time and effort I've put into it. I've worked too hard to stop."

Heading into Wednesday's game, few have stopped or even slowed Wilhite.

As the team's lone pure scoring threat, he averaged better than 25 points per game in the rugged West Catholic Athletic League. No one else on his 20-8 team averaged more than 10.

In Friday's resounding 68-51 Central Coast Section Open Division title win over Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), a team that had defeated Riordan twice earlier in the season, Wilhite had 29 points.

He drilled four early deep three-pointers, opening up the rest of the floor, widening an early lead while leading the Crusaders to their 16th CCS crown, but first at the Open Division level.

It was the second straight year, Wilhite torched Mitty, a defensive-minded squad which regularly neutralizes big scorers. Wilhite had 35 points in a 69-63 overtime loss to Mitty in the 2021 CCS Open title game in June.

"He is definitely a challenge to defend," Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said. "He is an exceptional talent who has the ability to blow by defenders and then absorb contact and finish at the rim at varying angles. He also shoots it very well so it is difficult to give him space." De La Salle first-year coach Marcus Schroeder, who spent 10 seasons as a St. Mary's College assistant and associate head coach, says stopping Wilhite is impossible. Slowing him with a pair of 6-4 stalwarts Jordan Webster and Javon Johnson is a good plan, but the Spartans will likely stick to "our basic defensive principles."

"We'll just do our best to make it tough on him," he said. "We have to limit any easy chances. Beyond him being so fast and dynamic in the open court is that he can really shoot. And shoot it from deep."

That's old news to WCAL opponents, who watched Wilhite put up King-sized numbers during a five-game stretch of 166 points that included a league school-record 41-point effort versus visiting Sacred Heart Cathedral. He also had a pair of 35-point outings.

He shoots 85 percent from the line and 50-percent from the 3-point line.

His 41 broke the Riordan league mark of former NBA player Kevin Restani who had 38 in a 1969 game versus Mitty. His onslaught had local historians comparing his numbers with other school legends like Dwayne Fontana, Marquise Kately, John Tofi and Dior Lowhorn, along with more recent stars Chiefy Ugbaja, Jelani Clark and Bryce Monroe.

"Frankly, I've never seen anything quite like it (the five game surge) in all the WCAL and I've been around since the late 90s," Riordan coach Joe Curtin said. "Especially for a guard. It's one thing for an Aaron Gordon to dominate the paint and pick up a lot of baskets around the rim. King does it in a completely different way."

He's been doing it his way since entering high school at St. Ignatius, earning All-WCAL and All-Metro honors as a freshman. His signature game was 27-point outing in a Central Coast Section championship game win over Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Wilhite transferred to Riordan as a sophomore and between COVID-19 and learning the new system at times struggled. He didn't struggle at the end, however, proven by his breakout game versus Mitty. St. Francis didn't know quite what to do Jan. 22, when Wilhite, with the score tied at 62, blew past defenders for what looked to be a go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left. Remarkably he missed, but had the toughness to rebound his own miss.

He then simply dribbled down the clock, drove through the lane and scored the game-winner at the buzzer. He scored 21 of his game-high 25 in the second half.

The sequence didn't go exactly according to plan, but Wilhite said he focused during the offseason on dealing through adversity. "The game's not gonna go how you want it all the time, so you've just gotta keep your head straight," he said.

It definitely didn't go as planned over the summer.

The Crusaders lost two surefire Division I players — Zion Sensley and 7-footer Mor Sek — who transferred to Prolific Prep. Without them and four new starters, the burden for Wilhite to perform has been even greater.

Adding further pressure was that Wilhite decided to go out — and star — on the gridiron.

Growing up in San Francisco, football was his first love and he had planned to go out before his sophomore season, but COVID moved the sport to the spring.

"My dad (Wallace) played football (at Galileo) and it was always my No. 1 sport," said Wilhite, who earned All-WCAL honorable mention honors as a cornerback and receiver. "I loved getting back into it, but it did put me a little behind." He said it took him three or four games to get in the basketball groove. He said plans to play as a senior but that could change depending on basketball recruiting. He has current offers from Washington State and San Jose State.

"I am a big proponent of playing multi-sports and didn't discourage it at all," Curtin said. "That said, I knew it would be a tough transition. But King is a special talent."


The rest of the starters play key roles.

Marcellus Edwards, a 6-2 senior, is a defensive stopper with growing offensive skills.

Brendan Passanisi-Boullett (6-6), out of basketball for two years, is the team's one legitimate post.

Mark Barer, a 6-2 wing, offers shooting and experience, and sophomore Quinton Bundage (5-10) takes ball-handling duties off of Wilhite.

"It's been amazing to watch these guys with very little varsity experience develop and grow and learn to play together," Curtin said.

But clearly, the offensive load is on Wilhite, The King of Crusaders.

"Every team tries something extra to slow him down," Curtin said. "It's really on him to figure out how to attack. One way or another he's going to get a bucket or create for someone else. It's taken time for everyone to figure it all out.