Greg Whittington

Greg Whittington
No. 2 – Sioux Falls Skyforce
Position Forward
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1993-02-07) February 7, 1993
Columbia, Maryland
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Oakland Mills (Columbia, Maryland)
College Georgetown (2011–2013)
NBA draft 2015 / Undrafted
Playing career 2015–present
Career history
2015–present Sioux Falls Skyforce (D-League)

Greg Whittington (born February 7, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League. He played one and a half seasons of college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas before being suspended for academic deficiencies in January 2013, and then dismissed from the team in November 2013. After sitting out the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, Whittington had an impressive Summer League stint with the Miami Heat in 2015, leading to him signing with the team for training camp.

High school career

Whittington attended Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, Maryland where he was a four-year letterwinner playing for the basketball team. As a senior in 2010–11, he averaged 23.5 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.4 blocks, 3.0 steals and 2.7 assists per game, while earning All-Met Player of the Year and Howard County Player of the Year honors for leading his team to an undefeated season, finishing 25–0.[1]

College career

As a freshman at Georgetown in 2011–12, Whittington appeared in all 33 games while averaging 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game.[1] After a solid, trouble free first season for the Hoyas, Whittington's sophomore year was filled with turmoil due to academic concerns. He started the 2012–13 season well, averaging 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in 13 games up until January 8,[2] before missing the remainder of the season after being suspended for academic deficiencies.[3]

Whittington failed to appear in any games for the Hoyas to begin the 2013–14 season due to a torn ACL suffered during the summer, and was later dismissed from the team on November 30, 2013.[3] In mid-December, he transferred to Rutgers University and committed to playing for head coach Eddie Jordan.[4] However, he caused controversy the following month when he failed to enroll at Rutgers for the spring semester, with no comment given on his decision not to join the school.[5] Whittington subsequently sat out the entire 2013–14 season.

Professional career

During the 2014–15 season, Whittington spent time with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League, working out with them and practicing in order to get into the flow of the game speed for the NBA level. With his ACL still healing, he was not considered ready to play yet, thus spending another full season out of action.[6]

In May and June of 2015, Whittington took part in pre-draft workouts with the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics.[7] The Celtics' director of player personnel, Austin Ainge, said of Whittington, "He came in shape which is good. It's sometimes hard outside an organized program to stay in shape, and he did. He came in, in shape and played pretty well."[8] Whittington ultimately went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft and joined the Miami Heat for the 2015 NBA Summer League. He struggled in Orlando before turning it around in Las Vegas, where he led the Heat in minutes and rebounds. He also looked much more comfortable on the floor, which helped him to a more impressive offensive showing. He earned high praise from Heat assistant coach Dan Craig, with Craig saying "He's been great at getting us into second situations and then defensively, you can do a lot with him. You can switch him on the perimeters, he can rebound, protect the rim for you, and he can bust out and create breaks so he adds a nice dimension."[9] Over nine total Summer League games for the Heat, Whittington averaged 9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.[10]

On September 3, 2015, Whittington signed a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Miami Heat.[11][12] On October 24, he was waived by the Heat after appearing in four preseason games.[13] On November 2, he was acquired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Heat.[14] On November 14, he made his debut for the Skyforce, recording 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 1 assist in a loss to the Iowa Energy.[15] A week later, he had a season-best game with 30 points and 10 rebounds in a 98–82 win over the Erie BayHawks.[16] His next best game came on December 4, recording 28 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals in a 115–99 win over the Delaware 87ers.[17] He appeared in all 10 games for the Skyforce to begin the season, helping them to a 7–3 record while averaging 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game.[18] However, a hand injury suffered in mid-December forced him to miss over a month of action.[19][20]

Personal

Whittington is the son of Gregory and Jana Lisa Whittington, and has an older sister, Hana, and a younger brother, Cortez.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Greg Whittington Bio". GUHoyas.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Greg Whittington 2012-13 Game Log". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Goodman, Jeff (November 30, 2013). "Hoyas dismiss F Greg Whittington". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (December 15, 2013). "Greg Whittington to play for Rutgers". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  5. ↑ Prunty, Brendan (January 31, 2014). "Former Georgetown transfer Greg Whittington will not enroll at Rutgers". NJ.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Fernandez, Surya (July 16, 2015). "Greg Whittington turning heads with his versatility in Summer League". HotHotHoops.com. SB Nation. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Draft Workouts: Greg Whittington". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 26, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ Blakely, A. Sherrod (June 11, 2015). "Whittington trying to take 'difficult path' to NBA". CSNNE.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Undrafted Greg Whittington making his mark for Heat at summer league". FoxSports.com. July 17, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ "2015 Summer League Player Profile – Greg Whittington". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ "HEAT Signs Greg Whittington". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  12. ↑ Charania, Shams (September 1, 2015). "Greg Whittington To Sign Non-Guaranteed Deal With Heat". RealGM.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  13. ↑ "HEAT Waive Five Players". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ "SKYFORCE ANNOUNCES 2015-16 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Skyforce Fall Against Energy 98-95 In Home Opener". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 14, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Skyforce Down BayHawks". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. November 21, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Skyforce Smoke 87ers". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. December 4, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  18. ↑ Isaacson, Ed (December 18, 2015). "D-League Watch: Greg Whittington". HoopsHabit.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  19. ↑ Peters, Dan (December 23, 2015). "Skyforce Blank 905 Raptors in Overtime to Capture Win". espn991.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  20. ↑ Winderman, Ira (January 13, 2016). "Heat do Hollywood in advance of game against Clippers". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016. Also, Heat training-camp standout Greg Whittington is sidelined for the Skyforce with a wrist injury.

External links

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