Robert Antawon Whaley (born April 16, 1982) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player.

High school and college career

Whaley graduated from

Benton Harbor High School Benton Harbor High School is a high school in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, and is part of the Benton Harbor Area Schools. History In 2009, the school received a $52,000 grant from the U.S. federal government's stimulus program to upgrad ...

in 2001. He was a leading contender for Mr. Basketball of Michigan, but Benton Harbor came up just short of winning the championship. He attended

Barton County Community College Barton Community College, previously Barton County Community College, is a public community college in Great Bend, Kansas. Its service area includes Barton, Ellsworth, Pawnee, Rush and Russell Counties, Stafford County north of US Highway 5 ...

for two years, then transferred to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in 2003 and

Walsh University Walsh University is a private Roman Catholic university in North Canton, Ohio. It enrolls approximately 2,700 students and was founded in 1960 by the Brothers of Christian Instruction as a liberal arts college. Walsh College became Walsh Univ ...

in 2004. He was the NAIA Division II Player of the Year in 2004–05 and led Walsh to its first NAIA National Championship. He averaged 19.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 35 games as a senior. Walsh left the NAIA and joined the NCAA in 2011.

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2005–2006)

Whaley was selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

with 51st overall pick in the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fr ...

, becoming the most recent player drafted out of an NAIA school, as of 2018. As a rookie in 2005–06, Whaley appeared in 23 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 11 points on December 23, 2005 against the New York Knicks. On January 26, 2006, he was ruled out indefinitely with torn cartilage in his right knee. He returned to action in March 2006, but appeared in just one further game after returning to injury. On December 11, 2005, Whaley and teammate

Deron Williams Deron Michael Williams ( ; born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being drafted third overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. A thr ...

got into an altercation with a group of Denver Nuggets fans who were harassing them outside a

Park City Park City may refer to: a city in Utah. Places * National Park City, London, England, UK; see parks and open spaces in London in the United States * Park City, Illinois * Park City, Kansas * Park City, Kentucky * Park City, Montana * Park City, ...

club. Both Whaley and Williams gave police false names at that time, and both were cited for providing false information to police. Whaley, who sustained a 6-inch cut on his hand at the bar that night, was suspended one game by the Jazz for lying about how he received the injury. On June 8, 2006, Whaley was traded, along with

Kris Humphries Kristopher Nathan Humphries (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, New J ...

, to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in exchange for Rafael Araújo. He was later waived by the Raptors on June 21, 2006.

Post-NBA (2006–2008)

After being released by the Toronto Raptors, Whaley moved to the Dominican Republic where he played briefly with

Metros de Santiago Metros de Santiago is a professional basketball team based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in the Dominican top division Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Championships Liga Nacional de Baloncesto ...

. For the 2006–07 season, he joined the Twin City Ballers of the American Basketball Association. In March 2007, he left the Ballers and joined Petrochimi Imam of Iran for the rest of the season. On November 1, 2007, Whaley was selected by the

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

in the second round of the 2007 NBA Development League Draft. He was waived by the team on January 4, 2008, and reacquired on February 13. In 22 games (nine starts) for the D-Fenders in 2007–08, he averaged 4.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

Post-basketball life

In September 2008, Whaley was convicted in Michigan of running a drug house. Having absconded from his probation in January 2009, a National Crime Information Center warrant was issued for his arrest in March 2010. He was arrested in Salt Lake County, and while he was being searched to be booked into jail, officers found several bags of marijuana on his possession. In June 2010, he was extradited to Michigan, and was later sentenced to a two-year jail term in which he served between 2010 and 2012. In 2014, Whaley became an assistant coach for Utah Elite, a talented AAU program made up primarily of fifth-graders. On March 7, 2016, Whaley was ordered to serve 60 days in Davis County Jail after pleading guilty to a third-degree felony count of burglary. He was arrested on May 1, 2015 for burglarizing a

Layton Layton or The Laytons may refer to: Places United States * Layton, Florida, a city * Layton, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Layton Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa * Layton, New Jersey, an unincorporated community * Layton, Pennsyl ...

Marriott Hotel.

References

External links

Robert Whaley
at nba.com
Robert Whaley
at ucbearcats.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Whaley, Robert 1982 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Iran American men's basketball players American people convicted of drug offenses American prisoners and detainees Barton Cougars men's basketball players Basketball players from Michigan Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players Los Angeles D-Fenders players People from Benton Harbor, Michigan Petrochimi Bandar Imam BC players Prisoners and detainees of Michigan Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Walsh Cavaliers men's basketball players American people convicted of burglary 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people