Archbishop Riordan basketball star leaves midseason to play for Las Vegas prep academy
King-Njhsanni Wilhite, who led Riordan to CCS Open title last season and a 7-2 start this season, is leaving the San Francisco school immediately for Red Rock Academy.
In a stunning move, high-profile guard King-Njhsanni Wilhite is leaving Archbishop Riordan in the middle of his senior season to play for a start-up prep academy in Las Vegas.
The announcement was made in a six-word social-media post by Red Rock Academy on Thursday night, a post accompanied by a photoshopped image of Wilhite in front of the landmark “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
“Big things happening in the desert,” Red Rock Academy tweeted.
Red Rock Academy co-founder Tim Stevens told the Bay Area News Group on Friday that Wilhite is enrolling immediately and will play his first game on Monday.
“The way high school basketball is going, it’s another outlet for kids to be recruited in a world where the recruiting has been minimized substantially after COVID,” Stevens said.
Archbishop Riordan coach Joe Curtin, reached by text late Friday morning, declined to comment until Wilhite or his family contact the San Francisco school directly.
Wilhite, a 6-foot-1 two-star prospect, is leaving a program that he led to the Central Coast Section Open Division title and semifinals of the NorCal Open Division regionals last season.
Riordan is 7-2 and ranked fifth by the Bay Area News Group heading into its West Catholic Athletic League opener on Wednesday at St. Ignatius.
The Red Rock Academy announcement came one day after another Northern California basketball star, junior guard Jamari Phillips, left Modesto Christian to play for AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona.
Phillips, a four-star prospect, has committed to the University of Arizona, according to 247Sports.com.
Coincidentally, Wilhite’s first game for Red Rock will be against AZ Compass Prep in Arizona.
Wilhite was a first-team all-Bay Area News Group and WCAL player last season. He scored 29 points in the CCS Open final against Archbishop Mitty and 35 in a NorCal win at De La Salle.
Wednesday, Wilhite had 23 points in Riordan’s victory over previously undefeated Menlo-Atherton.
Red Rock Academy has minimal information online. The school does not appear to have a website nor does it show up on the Clark County (Nevada) school directory.
Red Rock Academy announced via Twitter its post-high school graduate basketball program on April 18 and its high school team on May 16.
The high school team plays in the Interscholastic National Basketball Alliance, which like the school has no website.
Stevens said Red Rock Academy offers online classes through an affiliation with a Las Vegas charter school, provides housing for out-of-state students and plays its home games at Western High in Las Vegas.