Riordan basketball star leaves midseason for Las Vegas prep school

In a stunning move, star point 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.  

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.