Robert Antawon Whaley (born April 16, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player.
![]() Whaley with the Jazz in December 2005 | |
Personal information | |
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Born | Benton Harbor, Michigan, U.S. | April 16, 1982
Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Listed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Benton Harbor (Benton Harbor, Michigan) |
College |
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NBA draft | 2005: 2nd round, 51st overall pick |
Selected by the Utah Jazz | |
Playing career | 2005–2008 |
Position | Zentrum |
Career history | |
2005–2006 | Utah Jazz |
2006 | Metros de Santiago |
2006–2007 | Twin City Ballers |
2007 | Petrochimi Imam |
2007–2008 | Los Angeles D-Fenders |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
High school and college career
editWhaley graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 2001. He was a leading contender for Mr. Basketball of Michigan, but Benton Harbor came up just short of winning the championship. He attended Barton County Community College for two years, then transferred to the University of Cincinnati in 2003 and Walsh University in 2004. He was the NAIA Division II Player of the Year in 2004–05 and led Walsh to its first NAIA National Championship. He averaged 19.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 35 games as a senior.[1] Walsh left the NAIA and joined the NCAA in 2011.
Professional career
editUtah Jazz (2005–2006)
editWhaley was selected by the Utah Jazz with 51st overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, becoming the most recent player drafted out of an NAIA school, as of 2018. As a rookie in 2005–06, Whaley appeared in 23 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 11 points on December 23, 2005 against the New York Knicks.[2] On January 26, 2006, he was ruled out indefinitely with torn cartilage in his right knee.[3] He returned to action in March 2006, but appeared in just one further game after returning to injury.[2]
On December 11, 2005, Whaley and teammate Deron Williams got into an altercation with a group of Denver Nuggets fans who were harassing them outside a Park City club. Both Whaley and Williams gave police false names at that time, and both were cited for providing false information to police. Whaley, who sustained a 6-inch cut on his hand at the bar that night, was suspended one game by the Jazz for lying about how he received the injury.[4][5][6] On June 8, 2006, Whaley was traded, along with Kris Humphries, to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Rafael Araújo.[7] He was later waived by the Raptors on June 21, 2006.[8]
Post-NBA (2006–2008)
editAfter being released by the Toronto Raptors, Whaley moved to the Dominican Republic where he played briefly with Metros de Santiago. For the 2006–07 season, he joined the Twin City Ballers of the American Basketball Association. In March 2007, he left the Ballers and joined Petrochimi Imam of Iran for the rest of the season.[9]
On November 1, 2007, Whaley was selected by the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the second round of the 2007 NBA Development League Draft. He was waived by the team on January 4, 2008, and reacquired on February 13.[10] In 22 games (nine starts) for the D-Fenders in 2007–08, he averaged 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.[11]
Post-basketball life
editIn September 2008, Whaley was convicted in Michigan of running a drug house. Having absconded from his probation in January 2009, a National Crime Information Center warrant was issued for his arrest in March 2010. He was arrested in Salt Lake County, and while he was being searched to be booked into jail, officers found several bags of marijuana on his possession.[4][12] In June 2010, he was extradited to Michigan,[13] and was later sentenced to a two-year jail term in which he served between 2010 and 2012.[14]
In 2014, Whaley became an assistant coach for Utah Elite, a talented AAU program made up primarily of fifth-graders.[15]
On March 7, 2016, Whaley was ordered to serve 60 days in Davis County Jail after pleading guilty to a third-degree felony count of burglary. He was arrested on May 1, 2015 for burglarizing a Layton Marriott Hotel.[16][17]
References
edit- ^ "Robert Whaley bio". NBA.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2006.
- ^ a b "Robert Whaley 2005-06 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Whaley out indefinitely with torn cartilage". ESPN.com. January 26, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ a b Reavy, Pat (March 13, 2010). "Former Jazz player Robert Whaley arrested in Utah". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Jazz rookies cited for giving false names to police". ESPN.com. December 14, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Jazz await NBA approval before disciplining Whaley". ESPN.com. December 16, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Raptors Acquire Kris Humphries & Robert Whaley for Araujo". NBA.com. June 8, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Raptors Acquire Rasho Nesterovic In Exchange for Matt Bonner, Eric Williams & a Future Second Round Pick". NBA.com. June 21, 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Robert Whaley" (PDF). NBA.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "2007-08 Transactions". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Robert Whaley D-League Profile". NBA.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Kobialka, Daniel (March 18, 2010). "Report: Police Arrest Ex-NBA Center Robert Whaley, Find Marijuana 'Between His Buttocks'". NESN.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Carlisle, Nate (June 30, 2010). "Ex-Jazz center Whaley out of SLC jail, shipped to Michigan". sltrib.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Larsen, Andy (March 9, 2016). "Former Jazz player Robert Whaley sentenced for burglarizing Layton hotel". KSL.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Jones, Tony (May 18, 2014). "Back in Utah, Ex-Jazzman Whaley coaching his way to redemption". sltrib.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ Falk, Aaron (March 9, 2016). "Utah Jazz: Former center Robert Whaley sentenced to jail for hotel burglary". sltrib.com. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ "Former Jazz player Whaley sentenced to 60 days in jail". DeseretNews.com. March 10, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Robert Whaley Archived 2016-04-01 at the Wayback Machine at nba.com
- Robert Whaley at ucbearcats.com