Teagan Lind of Falmouth becomes fifth recipient of the Dave Whiteside Scholarship

When it comes to Cape Cod basketball, Teagan Lind is one of the best.

She finished her senior season at Falmouth High with 16 points per game, led her team to the playoffs, and scored her 1,000th career point.

On Friday, Lind entered the Falmouth High gymnasium one last time, but it wasn’t to play basketball.

Lind was presented the Dave Whiteside Scholarship ($1,250), which has only been awarded to four people prior to her since 2021.

Dave Whiteside grew up playing basketball and loved the game. During his career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he averaged 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, shot 64% from the field and 86.2% from the free-throw line.

In his junior year, Whiteside led the NCAA Division III in free throw percentage (90.9) and led his team to the NCAA Division III Tournament. In 2012, he was inducted into the UNC Greensboro Athletic Hall of Fame.

He died in December of 2019 due to a bout with pneumonia. A year after his death, his friends got together and formed a scholarship around the characteristics he valued.

Those characteristics are hard work, dedication, commitment, teamwork, leadership, citizenship, and making it fun.

Lind showcased one of those characteristics with her commitment to Falmouth. A lot of coaches tried to recruit Lind to play at a prep school, but she said she wanted to stay and play for her hometown (Falmouth).

“If she had left, we'd have a much different run here than we’ve had. I can’t say enough about her,” Falmouth basketball head coach Bob Buscher said.

Whiteside's daughter Carly has carried on his legacy and name through the scholarship as she presents the award to the winner(s) each year.

“I’m super thankful that so many of the people that loved my dad, his friends, his teammates, our family members, have continued to support this scholarship and keep it alive because it means so much to all of us that we are continuing to talk about him and continue to bring his name up,” Carly Whiteside said. “I know that would make him really proud. I’m very happy that we continue to do this each year.”

Carly Whiteside said the selection process was different this year because she is not as involved with high school basketball as she was when she first graduated from Barnstable High School in 2019.

“I spoke with friends of mine and coaches that I know on the Cape, everyone kept telling me about this player Teagan from Falmouth,” Carly Whiteside said.  Teagan truly embodies the qualities that my Dad valued so much.”

To make it official, Lind picked up a black sharpie and wrote “Teagan Lind 2024” above the names of the winners from previous years.

“It feels amazing,” Lind said. “Carly’s amazing and it's such an honor to receive this award because her father was such a great guy for all the things he did on and off the court. It's super inspiring to hear her dad’s story, so I’m super honored to get this award.”

Buscher knew Lind was special before she stepped foot on the hardwood. He was her seventh grade math teacher when she was only 12-years-old.

“She was not afraid to ask questions, helped the other kids, and really made that class a special class,” Buscher said. “You could see that she was a different kid. She cares about others, and she’s smart, but doesn’t flaunt it.”

That boldness and humility translated to the basketball court as Buscher made Lind the captain over the past two years. He said there are a lot of younger girls that play, and Lind was there to guide them.

“She made sure freshmen were taken care of and not picked on, and made sure they’re part of the team. As a coach, that’s gold,” Buscher said.

Lind will be continuing her basketball career at Middlebury College in Vermont, and will study pre-med biology.

“It will be a place where I can have high academics and high level basketball, so I’m super excited,” Lind said.

Contact Courtney Jacobs at cjacobs@capecodonline.com . Follow him on X/Twitter: @CJ_Journalist.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Teagan Lind of Falmouth becomes fifth recipient of the Dave Whiteside Scholarship