Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Whitmore’s ‘mind-boggling’ debut helps end skid
PHILADELPHIA >> Cam Whitmore finally made his college debut Saturday.
It could not have come at a better time for Villanova. Or on a bigger stage, in front of a national TV audience plus 17,079 onlookers at Villanova’s annual alumni celebration at the Wells Fargo Center that included former coach Jay Wright, the man who recruited him.
The highly touted 6-7 freshmen forward did not disappoint.
Whitmore played 20 minutes, scored seven points, grabbed three rebounds, made three steals and was a plus-3 as the Wildcats rallied from an early 11-point deficit to snap a four-game losing streak with a 70-66 victory over Oklahoma.
Not bad for a player whose collegiate career was delayed by seven weeks because of a broken thumb on his right (shooting) hand that required surgery and limited him to only a few days of practice in the last week.
“Obviously, I’m shocked,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said of Whitmore’s performance. “… Normal human beings, they would have been just completely discombobulated.”
Whitmore isn’t just any freshman. He’s one of the most highly decorated recruits to come to Villanova and is projected as a top-10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was a McDonald’s AllAmerican, the Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year and the MVP of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship, won by Team USA.
Whitmore officially checked into the game to a rousing ovation with 14:18 to play in the first half. He received an even bigger reception when he made his first bucket, a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:42 remaining.
“That was love from ‘Nova Nation,” Whitmore said. “Since the beginning they’ve been building me up, helped me. I just kept a great attitude and I was very grateful for it.”
With his thumb taped for protection, Whitmore started slow. He missed his first three shots before knocking down three of his last four attempts, including one from 3-point land.
“At first I had some nerves coming into the game, but my teammates got me together and told me to relax and play my game,” Whitmore said. “That’s what I did.”
Whitmore’s biggest impact was on the defensive end where his length and athleticism gave Oklahoma problems when the Wildcats (3-5) went to a smaller lineup. He was used at the top of the 1-2-2 press.
“I’m so proud of this kid, and that starts with practice and everything he does off the court,” guard Caleb Daniels said. “He’s willing to struggle and that’s unique for a freshman. Not many freshmen are like that and that’s the case with all of our freshmen and it showed tonight. He had a great showing tonight. We picked him up and honestly he’s a very poised young man as a freshman and that something that a lot of freshman don’t have so I’m just really proud of him on both ends of the floor.”
Daniels finished with a game-high 22 points, 15 in the second half. Eric Dixon added 12 points and Chris Arcidiacono 10, but it was defense that enabled the Wildcats to snap Oklahoma’s six-game winning streak.
The Sooners (6-2) came out hot, shooting 66.7 percent (8-for-12) and 80 percent from deep (4-for-5) in the first eight minutes to open a 20-9 lead. Oklahoma connected on 42 percent of is overall tries (16for-38) and 33 percent of its shots from 3-point land (6for-18) after that.
Villanova chipped away, getting within 32-30 at the half, then took its first lead, 45-44, on a Daniels’ 3-pointer in the second half and went ahead for good, 62-61, on a layup by Brandon Slater with 3:22 to play in the game.
Whitmore was not on the court for the final stretch. He was on a minutes restriction and watched from the bench after coming out of the contest with 7:46 to play. But his impact was profound.
“I liked where Cam was,” Neptune said. “This guy has not picked up a basketball and he couldn’t shoot with his right hand for seven weeks. He hasn’t gone up and down, no contact, and then, on top of that, he’s never played in college. He’s never played at this level, in an NBA arena, playing against what I think is a really, really good team. So for what he just went through, that 20 minutes, (it’s) mindboggling.”