‘Basketball, naps and food every single day’
Former Uconn star Whaley is working hard to get on NBA’S radar
Isaiah Whaley can remember what he was thinking when he stepped on the Uconn campus and walked into Gampel Pavilion as a freshman five years ago. “Coming into Uconn, you look up every day and see all the people on the wall and all the NBA people,” he said. “You’re just like, ‘Man, I want to work to get that chance.’”
Fast-forward to 2022, and that is just what Whaley is doing.
Since Whaley left Storrs in late March, he’s been hard at work trying to get ready for the NBA draft. He’s balancing two two-hour basketball workouts per day with weight lifting and, of course, rest.
“My day is just basketball, naps and food every single day,” he said.
The 6-foot-9 forward made tremendous strides during his time at Storrs. Whaley had flashes of talent as a freshman but made too many mistakes. By his fourth season, he was the Big East co-defensive Player of the Year, and in his fifth year, he started 31 of 32 games and averaged 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks.
In April, along with Uconn teammates Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole, Whaley was invited to the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia, an event that allows players to showcase their games to NBA, G-league and overseas scouts.
He averaged 3.7 points and 6.3 rebounds over three games.
“It was a really interesting experience,” he said. “I was really nervous playing up there. It was my first time not in the college system. I was in the system for five years and it was the first time really showcasing myself.”
Whaley met with four NBA teams: the Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. They all asked Whaley about his basketball story, what he would bring to their respective teams, as well as his time at Uconn.
During the interview process, Whaley was pushed to show more of his offensive game, something that was not always apparent at
“We’ve had guys with better stuff to be our No. 1 pitcher,” Penders said. “But I don’t think we have had a guy with the combination of poise, baseball IQ and acumen. All those things combine to make one heck of a complete pitcher.”
Add to Peterson’s formula an ornery, competitive streak, instilled in him by two older brothers back in Chesterton, Ind. Six days a week, Penders says, Peterson is “Midwest nice,” and on the day he is pitching, “an East Coast jerk.”
“He’s just a nasty guy on the mound, not fun to be around,” Penders said. “I try to avoid him. I hate going out to get him.”
No matter the score, the inning or pitch count, the coaches have an argument on their hands — “You gottta be kidding me,” for example — when they go to the mound to take Peterson out of a game.
“I try to keep it light when I’m outside the lines,” Peterson said. “But whenever I get in between the white lines and up on the hill, something just clicks in me. I’m huge competitor. It’s just second nature to me at this point, competing, being fiery when I’m out there and just having confidence in myself.”
Peterson, a righthander, began his college career at Purdue appearing in 25 games as a freshman, all but one in relief. He posted a 2.20 ERA in Big Ten play and averaged more than a strikeout per inning, but he wanted an opportunity to use his full repertoire as a starter. He spent a season at Wabash Community College in Illinois, then picked Uconn. where he has completed his degree in applied resources in economics and became the Huskies’ Friday night starter.
Last season he went 7-1 with a win over Xavier in the Big East Tournament opener, and a win over Michigan in the NCAA Regional at South Bend, Ind. This season he went 10-2 with a 3.22 ERA with 129 strikeouts and 17 walks in 100 innings.
But a loss at Georgetown in his last regular-season start puffed up his ERA and stuck in his craw. Though he came out of the game with a foot/toe strain and flew back to Connecticut for an exam, he texted Penders to tell him he’d be ready to start the conference tournament opener against Georgetown seven days later.
“I’m pitching,” he told his coach. “I want them.” And he threw seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win, getting Uconn started toward a repeat as Big East champs.
“Me and coach Penders have a good relationship, me and [pitching coach Josh] Macdonald have a good relationship,” Peterson said. “But I never want to come out. I’d love to go out and throw 140 to 160 pitches if I could. That’s just not what baseball is today. They’re taking care of me and I have to respect that.”
Peterson, 6 feet 6 and 234 pounds, will have one of his toughest assignments on Friday. Wake Forest (40-17-1) has .319 team batting average and .548 slugging percentage with 115 home runs in 58 games.
The Deacons were 25-3 outside the ACC, which has nine teams in the field of 64. Wake Forest will send its No. 1 pitcher, Rhett Lowder, 11-3, 2.61 ERA in 15 starts, including a win over Miami in the ACC tournament.
“You’ve got keep going after guys and stay on the attack,” Peterson said. “You’re going to get everyone’s best shot in the postseason because nobody wants to go home. Whenever you get to match up against an ACC opponent there’s a little chip on your shoulder, competing against one of the best teams in the country.”
Peterson’s fastball is in the low 90s, with a slider that breaks late, more like a “slurve,” a changeup and a more conventional curve ball he mixes in occasionally. His command is so good, Penders said, that he has to be reminded to throw more pitches out of the strike zone to keep hitters off balance. With his strikeout-to-walk numbers Peterson, 22, who has another year of eligibility as an option, has heard from some scouts and is considered likely to be drafted in July, along with several teammates, somewhere in the middle of the 20 rounds.
“He’s not a one-hit wonder, not a one-piece wonder, you’ve got to appreciate him over time,” Penders said. “The last time I checked, the most important stat in this game is the W and he’s gotten an awful lot of Ws in two years at Uconn.”