Spalding’s Whitmore pledges to Villanova
Archbishop Spalding boys basketball star Cam Whitmore announced on CBS Sports on Thursday that he has committed to play at Villanova.
The explosive 6-foot-7 forward, set to start his fourth varsity season with the Cavaliers, was named the Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year in his condensed junior season in 2020-21. He averaged 22 points and 11.7 rebounds in leading Spalding to a 12-3 record.
Whitmore, who on Aug. 30 narrowed his choices to Villanova, North Carolina and Illinois, is a five-star recruit ranked No. 21 nationally in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports after entering the summer outside of the top 100.
ESPN lists him as a four-star recruit and the No. 36 player overall, and Rivals ranks him No. 22 in the class. Whitmore is rated the top player in Maryland by all three publications.
“It started at practice, the workouts they had, everybody was cool and all, and we bonded. So they treated me like I was family,” Whitmore told CBS Sports. “That was really a big part — everybody treated everybody like it was a family.”
Spalding coach Josh Pratt, who confirmed his star’s commitment Thursday afternoon, sees the pairing as an ideal fit with Whitmore’s growth on and off the court and Villanova coach Jay Wright’s track record with developing his student-athletes.
“Not only has Cam gotten better as a player, but he’s grown up, he’s matured. He’s a leader at Spalding, a leader in the community here and that’s a tribute to him,” said Pratt. “He made the announcement on his mom’s birthday, and I think that’s great — he’s a family-type kid. He’s been coachable, and we can go back and forth and he takes it in stride because he understands I have his best interest in mind. It’s been about him getting better on and off the court.
He’s very self-conscious, very aware of what he’s doing and where he wants to go as a young man, and it’s really been a pleasure to see him grow.”
Whitmore’s dominating athleticism has always stood out — particularly in transition, on the boards, and as a shot-blocker — but Pratt said he has added layers to his overall game every season and brings winning intangibles.
“He’s an unbelievable athlete — rebounding, shooting, getting to the basket,” Pratt said. “What his teammates are going to understand about him is he can be a really good team player. He’s coming in as a very confident player, but not one with that much of an ego where he can’t fit into whatever a coach wants and whatever the players want. He wants to be a part of a team, he wants to win, and whatever the team asks him to do, he’ll accept the role and do it.”
Whitmore follows former Spalding standout Derrick Snowden, a 2000 graduate and BCL Hall of Famer, to Villanova. More recently, Mount Saint Joseph grad Phil Booth, a 2014 grad, enjoyed a standout four-year career at Villanova that included a national championship in his freshman season.