Overlooked no more UNLV signee Robert Whaley’s incredible transformation into a top college recruit
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Robert Whaley remembers competing in a summer showcase event two years ago in a bid to improve his recruiting stock.
He had averaged 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game at Bountiful High School (Utah), using his crafty left-handed post game to dominate inside. Despite his production, however, interest from college coaches had flagged throughout his senior year.
And again, Whaley performed well at the showcase but didn’t get the response he was hoping for.
The most direct and unambiguous assessment came from Barret Peery, then an assistant coach at Texas Tech. Peery liked Whaley’s skill set as a 6-foot-5 forward, but there was a mitigating factor.
“He told me I was a good player, but he would never recruit me because of my size,” Whaley recalls.
Peery had a point. At the time, Whaley weighed in at more than 320 pounds, leading most Division I programs to question his discipline, his work ethic and whether he’d ever be able to keep up with pace of the college game. As a result, his recruiting interest dried up.
In that moment, Whaley realized how close he was to letting his basketball future slip away.
“I had a great junior year, had a bunch of schools calling,” he says. “Then I gained a bunch of weight, played out of shape. I was fat and lazy. I lost all the schools talking to me.”
That’s how Whaley ended up with one option — the College of Southern Idaho, a community college. But the wake-up call worked.
After two years of intense training, a slimmed-down version of Whaley might be the best player in the country at the junior college level. He’s posting 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while
shooting 53.5% from the field, and he’s got the 28-0 Golden Eagles at No. 1 in the juco national rankings.
And those D-I schools who lost interest the first time around took notice of his physical transformation. After another round of recruiting last summer, Whaley turned down offers from programs like Boise State, Utah State and Wichita State to sign with UNLV — where a familiar face was instrumental in bringing him aboard.
Peery is now an assistant at UNLV on Kevin Kruger’s staff and played a big role in Whaley’s recruitment (version 2.0).
It’s safe to say Whaley’s hard work has changed Peery’s mind.
“He loves me now,” Whaley says with a laugh.
Kruger and Peery were seated courtside in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Feb. 18 to watch Whaley and Southern Idaho take on the College of Southern Nevada. Whaley got into foul trouble and went scoreless in the first half but showed his potential after halftime by pouring in 14 points and powering the Eagles to a comeback win.
Whaley crammed his entire skill set into the second half. He scored inside, off the dribble and with his jump shot; he rebounded and blocked shots; he dove for loose balls and elevated above the rim.
It’s taken two years of concentrated effort to unlock that potential. Two years of early mornings, strict workout regimens and an even stricter diet plan. Whaley says he doesn’t go home to Utah in the offseason, opting to stay in Twin Falls and stay on top of his conditioning.
When he arrived as a freshman, Whaley weighed 323 pounds. He’s now down to 260 and still looking to get leaner.
Whaley said changing his attitude made the biggest difference.
“I didn’t care. I didn’t really understand what it meant to work. I finally experienced that here, after coming to college and seeing that everyone was better than me, because I’ve been better than everyone pretty much my whole life. They’re bigger, stronger, faster, and it finally caught up to me. I was like, ‘I’ve got to work.’”
Whaley credits College of Southern Idaho coach Jeff Reinert for developing his workout routine and turning him into a player that college coaches coveted once again.
“We knew he was talented,” Reinert says. “He was just lazy. He weighed 323 pounds and he didn’t even know it. But he was so skilled. I just felt like if he could lose the weight, he could be really good. He commands double teams. There are Division I teams that don’t have anyone who can score on the block; there are few teams in the Mountain West that have it. He opens the floor up for everybody else.”
In addition to his interior scoring prowess, Whaley is also averaging 2.0 assists per game while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range, and he moves around the court with a nimbleness that wasn’t as evident 60 pounds ago.
“We’re No. 1 in the country because of Rob Whaley,” Reinert says. “Everyone has got to double him. He inspires so many mismatches. And he loves to pass the basketball, sometimes too much. Sometimes I would prefer he just go be a beast and dunk the basketball, but he’s the kind of player who really helps with the culture of your team.”
Southern Idaho will wrap up its regular season Wednesday, with its eyes on the NJCAA national tournament set for March 20-25.
Then Whaley will join UNLV, where Reinert fully expects him to continue getting in better shape and further unlocking his game.
“Even today, he’s probably 60% of what he could be,” Reinert says. “He’s worked really hard here. He’s really close. I really feel when he goes down to UNLV in the summer and he’s got all the training and he’s got the strength and conditioning people and they’re all right there for him, he’ll blossom. He could be a monster.”
Whaley shares his coach’s vision. Hard work has earned him a second chance, and he intends to keep it up.
“All the work, it shows,” Whaley says. “Now I’m playing at an elite level. My speed, my endurance has gotten a lot better. I jump a lot higher than I used to. I’m able to do quicker moves, faster moves. I’m able to face up and make moves off the bounce. My game has really elevated to a new level. This season has just been so exciting, and I can’t wait to keep getting better.”