Davey Whitney obit

Former Alcorn State head coach Davey L. Whitney Sr. dies at 85

 He was not on the list.

Before Coppin State in 1997 and Hampton in 2001, there was the 1980 Alcorn State Braves. That team became the first from an HBCU to win a game in the Division I NCAA tournament. Sunday it was announced by the school that the man who led that team, Davey “The Wiz” Whitney, passed away at 85 at his home in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Whitney led the Braves from 1969-89 and from 1996-2003, winning 566 games and 12 SWAC title during those years. Prior to taking over at Alcorn State, he was the head coach at Texas Southern from 1964-69. In that 1980 NCAA tournament appearance, Alcorn State beat South Alabama in the first round before falling to one-seed LSU in the second round.

Whitney was at the helm for all six of the program’s NCAA tournament appearances, the last of which coming in 2002. Whitney’s best player during his time at Alcorn State was forward Larry Smith, the leading scorer on that 1980 team, and he played 13 seasons in the NBA from 1981-93.

Elected into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, Whitney received the school’s Athletic Heritage Award in 2013 and the school’s basketball arena is named in his honor as well.

Biographical details

Born     January 8, 1930

Midway, Kentucky, U.S.

Died     May 10, 2015 (aged 85)

Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.

Playing career

1948–1952            Kentucky State

Position(s)            Guard

Coaching career (HC unless noted)

1954–1964            Burt HS

1964–1969            Texas Southern

1969–1989            Alcorn A&M/Alcorn State

1989–1994            Wichita Falls Texans (asst.)

1994            Mississippi Coast Gamblers (asst.)

1996–2003            Alcorn State

Head coaching record

Overall 562–364

Tournaments            3–6 (NCAA D-I)

1–2 (NIT)

10–5 (NAIA D-I)

Accomplishments and honors

Championships

12× SWAC regular season (1973, 1976, 1979–1982, 1984–1986, 1999–2000, 2002)

6× SWAC Tournament (1980, 1982–1984, 1999, 2002)

CBA (1991)

College Basketball Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2010

Baseball career

Infielder

Negro league baseball debut

1952, for the Kansas City Monarchs

Last appearance

1954, for the Kansas City Monarchs

Teams

Kansas City Monarchs (1952–1954)