MURRAY — Murray High basketball standout Grant Whitaker has chosen to end the drama early when it comes to his choice for where he would like to continue his career at the collegiate level.
Whitaker announced in a Twitter post late Wednesday that he was choosing to commit to Bellarmine University, which joined NCAA Division 1’s ASUN Conference last year after being in Division 2 for several years. The Louisville school was very successful in D2, winning the 2011 national title under current Head Men’s Basketball Coach Scotty Davenport, who won the 1988 Kentucky high school boys state title as part of a very successful stint at Louisville Ballard.
Whitaker said he was very impressed with Davenport during his recruitment.
“He knows how to win (Davenport is 394-133 since taking over at Bellarmine in 2005 after serving as an assistant under coaching legends Denny Crum and Rick Pitino at Louisville) and he has a fun style of basketball that I look forward to playing at a championship level,” Whitaker said. “After watching him coach practice and games and seeing the love he has for his guys and the way he coaches, it’s just something that I look forward to being part of. He’s obviously a great guy and a great coach that I could see myself around and I can’t wait to see what they do this year and obviously in the future.
“I knew I had to take this opportunity they had given me by offering a scholarship. The thing about it was it felt like home, so I didn’t want to waste any time.
“I felt like the coaching staff and players were super nice and welcoming and complemented me in many ways. It was an awesome place up there and I felt I needed to be part of it.”
Bellarmine made itself more marketable by making its first full season in D1 count. Hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020-21 season, the Knights went 20-13 last season and ended that run by winning the ASUN Tournament. However, the Knights have not yet been a D1 school for four years, thus not satisfying the NCAA’s required re-classification period, meaning they could not accept the ASUN’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Bellarmine then elected to end its season by not accepting an invitation to other postseason tournaments.
Whitaker made himself a wanted commodity with a strong junior year at Murray High. He was a big reason the Tigers won the Region 1 title, then made lots of noise at the state tournament at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
He scored 20 points and made several big plays down the stretch to keep the Tigers one step ahead of dangerous Lexington Henry Clay in a 57-53 first-round win. Then, he helped keep Murray High (26-7) alive in the late going against eventual runner-up Warren Central, scoring 23 points in a 54-48 quarterfinal loss.
“They’ve made that move to Division 1 and already won a conference championship and you can look at the success they’ve had for a number of years,” Whitaker said, going back to Davenport’s tenure at Ballard and how he coached one of the NBA’s elite players, Hall of Famer Allan Houston. “I can remember how my dad (Mark) and I watched (the replay) of a game (Ballard and Houston) played in the state championship (in ’88 against Clay County) and that was incredible. Coach Davenport has had success at many levels with some amazing people.”
Something else that Whitaker said was very attractive was the close proximity to Louisville.
“My parents and grandparents are going to love getting to come watch my games in college. It makes that part of it fun, especially with our games being close,” he said.
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