When Penn freshman guard David Whitehurst glances at the opposing sidelines of Levien Gymnasium tomorrow night, he will see a player who donned the same uniform as he did only a year ago.
Columbia freshman Kashif Sweet, who entered this season as the Lions' backup point guard, played with Whitehurst at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J.
Sweet, a 5-foot-11 point guard and Whitehurst, a 6-3 wing-guard, formed the perfect tandem in their final year before college. As co-captains, they led Lawrenceville to a 24-4 record and the Prep-A Division state championship.
And although Sweet will be inactive when the Quakers (15-8, 8-1 Ivy) take on Columbia (12-11, 3-7), both former teammates are looking forward to the continuation of their new rivalry.
Sweet was forced to learn a new system when he transferred to Lawrenceville after four years at St. Stephens Episcopal School in Austin, Texas -- his hometown.
But despite being cast as the new guy, Sweet or "Chief" as he was called by his teammates, was able to fit into the role of point guard, while Whitehurst occupied the two position.
As a shooting guard, Whitehurst typically made more shots, averaging 15 points per game during his senior season.
"On the court, he passed, I shot," Whitehurst said. "Basically he was a point guard, I was a shooting guard; everyone knew their roles."
But Sweet also knew how to score, as he was able to average 14 points and five assists per game last year.
"He had his share of shots, too," Whitehurst said. "It was a good balance."
What Sweet had to deal with that Whitehurst didn't was the task of distributing the ball among several star players on his squad, including 6-10 forward Joakim Noah, who now plays for Florida, and guard Craig Moore, who received a full scholarship to Northwestern.
Whitehurst said that the team faced some difficulty early in the season with so many players demanding the ball.
"For a while there, our team's dynamics was, 'Who was gonna shoot,'" Whitehurst said. "Then some people started to sacrifice, and we got our team back."
Once the team found its groove, there was no stopping it. Lawrenceville breezed through its competition in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League and at one point was ranked among the top 15 high school teams in the nation.
In December 2004, Noah and Whitehurst combined for 30 points in the first half of a blowout victory over Brunswick (Conn.), which was led by current Columbia starting point guard Brett Loscalzo.
Lawrenceville's outstanding season culminated with a dominating 90-66 victory over Saint Benedict's Prep -- which then featured All-American and current NBA player J.R. Smith.
By the end of the season, all five of Lawrenceville's starters earned All-Prep honors. Then the colleges came calling.
Whitehurst was pretty close to joining his backcourt partner at the collegiate level, as the Tinton Falls, N.J., native was also recruited by the Lions.
But Whitehurst ended up choosing the Red and Blue over Ivy rivals Columbia, Brown and Princeton.
"After I decided not to go [to Columbia], they decided to start recruiting [Sweet] heavy," Whitehurst said. "It's a good fit for him."
After playing in 15 games, Sweet tore his anterior cruciate ligament and is now forced to miss the rest of the season, according to Whitehurst. Loscalzo has been the Lions' starting point guard since the season opener.
Sweet underwent surgery on Tuesday and was unavailable for comment.
But Whitehurst believes that once Sweet recovers, he will take over the starting role.
"The point guard now, Loscalzo, I could see him moving over to the two," Whitehurst said. "Kashif ... knows how to play the game. I know coach [Joe] Jones is gonna do good things with him."
So what will Whitehurst do when he eventually faces Sweet on the court?
"It's a good rivalry," Whitehurst said. "We always talked stuff against each other when we were playing one-on-one in the fall and in the spring, after basketball season. It's all in fun."
"Of course I have to 'kill' him as they say on the court ... but off the court, when we see each other after the game, right back to normal," Whitehurst added.
