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Seton Hall Pirates freshman forward Isaiah Whitehead will be sidelined for a few weeks with a stress fracture according to the Pirate forward's Twitter account.
Whitehead, who is averaging 11.9 points per game thus far this season, is a big part of Seton Hall's team because he does so much on both offense and defense. At this point and time, he was getting used to the college game and getting into a flow, with his last big game being against Wichita State, where he scored 23 points in the Pirates loss to the highly touted Shockers.
It can't be understated that this is a huge loss for this team. Via Ken Pomeroy, Whitehead is involved in 29.5 percent of the team's possessions, a team-high and 71st in the nation as well. Whitehead will be out going into conference play, which could prove to be critical because that is when the intensity picks up in the Big East and he will have to jump right into the pond as opposed to just getting his feet wet if he were healthy going into New Year's Eve.
The Pirates will be in good shape if they continue to play hard, and the next person will need to step up and play well in Whitehead's absence.
UPDATE: Per a Seton Hall release, and Chris McManus of South Orange Juice, there are more specifics on Whitehead's injury:
Release from Seton Hall says Isaiah Whitehead has stress fracture of 2nd and 3rd metatarsal and that injury was caught early. #shbb
— Chris McManus (@CerasolisGhost) December 24, 2014
Also included are quotes from Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard:
Kevin Willard on Whitehead injury: "We are glad that we caught this injury early." #shbb
— Chris McManus (@CerasolisGhost) December 24, 2014
Willard "We have outstanding doctors who will monitor Isaiah's progress & we look forward to having a healthy Isaiah back on the court ASAP"
— Chris McManus (@CerasolisGhost) December 24, 2014