Whaley selected by Utah in 2nd round of NBA Draft

Whaley selected by Utah in 2nd round of NBA Draft
Former Barton County Community College All-American Robert Whaley was selected in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft Tuesday night. Whaley played for the Barton men's basketball team during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons when he was named All-American twice. He is the 3rd former Cougar selected in the draft.

The 6-10 center was selected late in the 2nd round by the Utah Jazz with the 51st overall pick. There were 60 players drafted in all. Whaley joins Kenny Williams and Alek Radojevic as the only other players from Barton County to be taken in the NBA Draft.

Whaley earned 1st team All-American honors his freshman season at Barton County, averaging 16.8 points and 6.8 rebounds. During the Jayhawk West season his scoring average was just under 20 points a contest at 19.1. He also averaged more than 3 block shots per contest while hitting 57 percent from the floor.

His sophomore season at Barton, Whaley upped the averaged to 16.9 points per game and improved his rebounding to 7.7 per contest. But his shooting fell to just under 50 percent and his blocked shots to less than 2 per contest. Whaley was tabbed as a 2nd team All-American that season. Barton spent much of that season ranked in the Top 10 including a long stretch at No. 1 before finishing with 28-4 record.

From there, Whaley moved on to the University of Cincinnati, where he struggled and eventually decided to quit the team during his junior season after limited playing time where he averaged 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds. This past season he played for Walsh University, an NAIA school in Ohio. Whaley led the Cavaliers to the NAIA Division II National Championship and was named the NAIA Division II National Player-of-the-Year for his efforts. Whaley averaged 19.9 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Whaley's draft stock increased at the NBA pre draft camps in Chicago earlier this month, where scouts says he showed up in shape and was impressive with his play in the inside.

-30-

Check out Barton County Basketball Online at www.bartonccc.edu/sports