Whaley returning to UConn next season
Call him “Poppers” or “Pork Chop” or “The Wrench” or whatever you’d like. You can also call Isaiah Whaley a Husky for one more season.
Whaley will return to UConn for a fifth season, the school announced on Tuesday. The 6-foot-9 senior forward is set to graduate in May with a degree in Urban and Community Studies, but can play an extra season after the NCAA granted an additional year of eligibility to student-athletes because of the COVID-19 disruption this year.
Whaley will not count toward a program’s scholarship limit next season.
“Isaiah has worked extremely hard to become one of the most productive players in our program,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said in a release sent out by the school. “His tireless work ethic, his leadership, and his attitude epitomize the type of player we want at UConn. I couldn’t be happier to welcome him back for another season.”
Whaley was the only player to start all of UConn’s 23 games this past season, averaging 8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks with a field goal percentage of 47.9 in 27.4 minutes per game. UConn went 15-8 and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, losing its first-round game to Maryland.
“I am very excited to be able to return to UConn for another season,” Whaley said in the release. “I think we took a big step forward this year and I want to help the program continue its rise as we go after championships.”
Whaley, who ranked 14th in the country in blocked shots per game, was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East Conference. He recorded four double-doubles this season, upping his career total to nine, and he was a major reason why UConn led the Big East in both scoring defense (64.6) and blocked shots (5.3), ranking sixth in the country in the latter category.
Since Whaley will not
count towards UConn’s 13-scholarship allotment, the Huskies still have three open scholarships for next season. They are still awaiting word from Tyler Polley, a senior who can return for another year and also not count towards the scholarship limit. Graduating senior Josh Carlton (Houston) and junior Brendan Adams (George Washington) have already announced they are transferring. Leading scorer James Bouknight has declared for the NBA draft and could be a lottery pick.
UConn has reached out to numerous players in the NCAA transfer portal, but Whaley’s return means center/power forwards like UMass’s Tre Mitchell and South Florida’s Alexis Yetna appear very unlikely. UConn had only minimal contact with Mitchell and had recently shifted its emphasis from Yetna, per sources.
With Whaley and Big East All-Rookie center Adama Sanogo back next season, the presumed return to health of Akok Akok, as well as talented incoming freshman Samson Johnson and current redshirt freshman Richie Springs, the Huskies appear set in their frontcourt, at least for the moment.
Hurley has stated that he’s looking to add more shooters and skilled players to the roster, so a player like Noah Locke, a good shooter from Florida who has been contacted by UConn, would appear to be among the team’s top targets.
The Huskies could also add a Class of 2021 high school recruit and could possibly leave a scholarship open, even though Hurley has received approval from the athletic department to have more than 13 scholarship players for next season.