Isaiah Whaley Could Be a Key Bench Player for UConn
HARTFORD – Less appears to be more for Isaiah Whaley.
The 6-foot-9 freshman only logged eight minutes in UConn’s 79-63 exhibition win over Merrimack on Monday, but Whaley made the most of those eight minutes with 10 points, five rebounds and one steal.
“Really whenever I get on the court I want to bring as much energy and as much active as I can,” said Whaley, a three-star power forward coming out of Mount Zion (Md.) Prep who did not commit to the Huskies until May 11. “I just want to inspire everyone like if we are down I want to bring us back up.
“I just want to be that energy guy.”
Whaley flashed that energy in the second half, wowing the crowd at the XL Center with back-to-back putback dunks. But his play around the rim was not the only thing that caught the UConn coaching staff’s attention.
“In eight minutes you got 10 points and five rebounds, and some of the stuff on the stat sheet doesn’t even show up,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “Like (getting out) on pick and rolls, being active with his hands up. He was just all over the place.”
Two starters from last year's frontcourt, Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey, have moved on, and the remaining ones transferred, so the Huskies have a lot of minutes to replace in the paint. Whaley made a strong case for taking at least some of them, but the team has a crowded competition for that playing time with fellow freshman Josh Carlton, junior transfer Eric Cobb, and redshirt freshman Mamadou Diarra all in the mix.
The Huskies also have fifth-year Cornell transfer David Onuorah, who missed both exhibition games due to a sore hip that was scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday.
“I’ve not had to compete for a spot or a position before, but it’s been fun, though,” Whaley said. “I’ve always been the guy, so it’s different. …I feel like I am getting better and all the other bigs are getting better off it, too.”
Perhaps the Huskies will cash in for a second straight season on a player who was a late recruiting addition. Last year they got lucky with guard Christian Vital, a combo guard who plays like Ollie who arrived late from St. Thomas More.
“To be a young big like that and show the things that (Whaley) did that don’t show up in the stat sheet, it’s just amazing,” Ollie said. “He’s going to keep getting better and better."
“He’s just a yes man - whatever I say he says ‘yes’ and we love that,” Ollie said. “That’s the type of basketball players we want, and we want basketball players who are going to be in every play. When he was out on the basketball court he was in every play. If we can continue that I think he’ll have a bright future for us at UConn."
In his exhibition debut, Whaley scored two points with two rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes against Providence. It was not quite the same stat stuffing he did against the smaller Warriors, but the experience playing a top Big East school was beneficial.
“That helped me out a lot, especially physicality wise,” he said. “Going at it in practice with the bigs, how we go at it, we are really going after it. So, it transitioned to the game and it was easier to box out and be physical with the other players. … Playing in practice and then the Providence, things slowed down (against Merrimack) and that’s what really helped us.”
At 190 pounds, the long and lean Whaley doesn’t have quite the girth some of the Friars and teammates like Cobb and Onuorah have to bang inside, but he’s learning to survive.
“I already got hurt by David earlier, the first practice he got my back, but I’ve improved after that,” he said. “With those (bigger) guys I just try to use my speed and quickness.”