Last Wednesday Lehigh beat Boston University 74-60 in the Patriot League tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Mountain Hawks were 12-16 in mid-February, but have won 6 in a row since then to make the NCAA tourney for the 1st time since 2012. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Lehigh JR G Nasir Whitlock about being named conference tourney MVP and making the NCAA tourney.
You were born/raised in Minnesota: what made you choose Lehigh? It was a combination of basketball and academics for me. The coaching staff was great, so it felt like the best situation for me.
You play for Coach Brett Reed: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? His competitiveness: sometimes I can sense that he has to turn it down for us because he always wants to win. His biggest thing with me was to help me improve all the facets of my game to make me a well-rounded player.
You played in 31 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? My role as a freshman was to come off the bench and be a sparkplug as a PG. I just tried to get some scoring going and bring some energy to the court. It was my 1st time coming off the bench in a while, so I had to adjust to that, but it ended up giving me some confidence.
Last month you tied a career-high with 33 PTS/12-16 FG in an 8-PT win over American: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? My teammates found me at the right time: American was doubling our big men in the post, so my teammates passed the ball out to me and I had a couple of open looks early on. As a player it is always good when you can get in the zone, but I credit my teammates for making the right plays.
You led the league this season with 21 PPG: what is the secret to being a great scorer? Letting it come to you rather than forcing it. The more I let the game come to me, the more effective a scorer I am. I just get into the flow of the game, which is what the best scorers are able to do.
Last Wednesday in the Patriot title game you scored a team-high 18 PTS in a win over Boston University: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? There were 4 of us who scored 14+ PTS that night so our offense was very well-rounded. I did not play my best (5-13 FG), but just tried to clear my mind, treat it like any other game, and be aggressive.
You were also named tourney MVP: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot and is a blessing, but I was just focused on the win. The MVP award also could have gone to 2 of my teammates who ended up making the all-tournament team (Hank Alvey/Joshua Ingram).
After only starting 2 games combined during your 1st 2 years you started all 34 (and counting) this year: what is the biggest difference between being a starter and coming off the bench? Being a starter allows you to find your way into the flow of the game, but if you come off the bench then you need to make an impact right away.
Your opening game this season featured your most impressive opponent this season (Houston): what makes the Cougars such a great team? Their defense and how hard they play, which travels anywhere. They have so much communication and hold each other accountable.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? I think we will get a 16 seed. I do not pay much attention to predictions, so we will just go out and play.
The 2026 Hoops HD Selection Committee – Friday, March 13th
Friday the 13th brings us the second day of deliberations on the Hoops HD Selection Committee. Tonight our first order of business was to add 6 more teams to the at-large board. As we alluded to last night, there were three additional at-large spots guaranteed to open up since the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten will not have any bids stolen. As the results of today’s games went final, we were also assured that a bid thief would not come out of the Big East, but the SEC still has a potential bid thief in Ole Miss after the Rebels’ win against Alabama.
There were 2 groups of 3 teams added; each Committee member voted for their top 8 teams to be added to the next round of voting with carryovers Mother Miami, Iowa and Santa Clara. After ranking the teams 1 through 8, the next 3 teams added were Iowa, Santa Clara and Texas A&M (?!?). The Redhawks had to go back to Under Consideration since they could not carry over for two consecutive rounds of voting. The process was repeated and the second wave of votes saw UCF, Saint Louis and Missouri added to the at-large board. The three carryover teams that will be considered for the final at-large spots will be Mother Miami, Texas and VCU (meaning that the VCU Rams had better win the A-10 auto bid in the eyes of our Selection Committee).
At this point, the process began in terms of seeding the field; each Committee member submitted a list of their top 12 teams to Chad (our chairman). The top 12 vote-getters were ranked 1 through 12; the top 8 teams would constitute the #1 and #2 seed lines in our field. (The real committee would seed the lines 1 at a time, but we go 2 lines at a time to speed up the process). We repeated the process for the 3 through 6 seed lines; the final task for the night was to do the 7-seed line only given the lack of teams on the board at the moment.
Tomorrow night, we will fill the final at-large spots that open up (including an SEC contingency depending on what Ole Miss does) and we will entertain potential motions to move teams off of the at-large board if necessary. I was not personally present and was horrified to see Texas A&M on our board, so an immediate motion to move them off the board will be made. This doesn’t necessarily mean they would be eliminated from the field if the motion passes, but they would move back to Under Consideration to be evaluated with Mother Miami, Texas, VCU, etc.
We will also fill the remaining seed lines and (time permitting) do a scrub of our overall seed list. Tune in tomorrow to see where the board stands after Saturday night’s championship games!