Down two points at the half, and five points after the third quarter over the weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss., Whitson knew her team, missing both players and coaches to health and safety protocols, needed a push.
"Hey!" she said to the timeout huddle before the fourth quarter. "We're not losing!"
What followed from the Kingsport, Tenn. native was 10 minutes of fury against Southern Miss, as the junior forward scored 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting with two threes and a perfect 5-for-5 clip from the free throw line to ice the game in the fourth quarter. Whitson finished the game with 26 points and 11 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.
It was merely the latest game changing performance for a player that head coach Rick Insell said was "probably as crucial a recruit as we've gotten since I've been in here."
"People want us to accept that (mindset), that 'it's ok and we're going to dig ourselves out of the hole,'" Whitson said. "No, it's not ok and we're not going to lose. Coach doesn't have that mindset, and I'm not going to have that mindset."
Her head coach said that leadership motivates his team in crucial moments. It's the kind of leadership that's backed up by her own performance, which helps build trust within the team.
"Some people can't talk the talk then walk the walk," Insell said. "She talked the talk Saturday, then walked the walk."
That fire is something Whitson said she's always possessed on the court. A hard-hat, blue collar work ethic instilled into her as long as she can remember. That work ethic has helped drive her into one of the top returning players in C-USA this season, leading the conference and country in minutes played and in the Top 10 in both rebounds and three-pointers made.
"Talent, a lot of times, can get you far for a little bit," Whitson said. "But at the end of the day, work ethic always shows up."
She's been a do-it-all player for the Lady Raiders, a scorer from both the outside and the inside that is a crucial rebounder and often guards the opposing team's best post threat, despite being undersized for a D1 forward at just six feet tall. But talk to enough people around the Middle Tennessee program, and you realize her impact extends far beyond her on-the-court skill.
Insell said that after the 2020-21 season, his program's culture needed improvement. Whitson certainly agreed. So she did what she always does, what Charity Savage first did for her when Whitson arrived as a freshman in the summer of 2019. Take the young players under her wing and set the culture herself.
The results have been evident. Freshman Jalynn Gregory raves about how Whitson took her in when she first arrived and showed her the ropes. Fellow newcomers like Dor Saar and Courtney Blakely have meshed within both the offense and defense.
And most importantly, it's a team that roots for each other's success, not caring who has the most points on a given night. Cheering on every positive moment from the bench. A necessity that Insell admits hadn't always been around.
"That's why she was so crucial," Insell said. "We were probably more ecstatic about signing Courtney Whitson as any player as we've ever brought in. Because we knew she was grounded, she was sound, she was exactly what we wanted."
On-the-court, Whitson is still getting used to a new role this season, as she has for all 72 games she's started at Middle Tennessee (and counting, she's started every single game at MT since she joined the program). Where in the past she could focus on rebounds, this year's team relies on her natural scoring ability a bit more.
"This year, sometimes I have to be like 'hey, you've got to score,'" Whitson said. "Last year, I could go get 20 rebounds and go for five points and we could win by 30. The ball is in my hands a lot more this year, so I have to look to create and give what the defense gives me."
The numbers back it up. She already has more assists this season in 17 games than she did last year in 25, in addition to her jump in scoring, largely for an increased volume of shots. And that volume is much needed for this year's Lady Raiders: in the team's four losses so far this season, only one (at UTEP) came when Whitson scored at least 10 points.
Whitson also rarely leaves the court for MT, regularly playing 40 minutes in a game, in large part, Insell notes, because she's done a good job keeping out of foul trouble this season. Whitson, for her part, credits the offseason conditioning for pushing her through the wall she knows will hit at some point during the game, as well as the trust Insell and the coaching staff have in her.
The forward is studying education, with the goal of being a high school English teacher one day, and hopefully coaching basketball alongside it. A rare combination, admittedly, for an athletic director to find. Insell says she's got the potential, with her basketball acumen and her ability to turn the court into her classroom each day, to be the next Pat Summit, if she continues the path she's on.
And it's not because of her basketball skills as much as who she is, Insell notes. Whitson often is one of the biggest proponents of the school to incoming recruits, and not just the women's basketball program's. Insell said he'll find her talking with soccer recruits, potential supporters of the program, or anyone else who wants to be sold on being a Blue Raider.
"She's selling Middle," Insell said, "What she doesn't know is she's really selling Courtney Whitson. Because everybody sees that and they want to hire her."
The Link LonkJanuary 27, 2022 at 07:25AM
https://goblueraiders.com/news/2022/1/26/womens-basketball-hard-hat-blue-collar-whitson-sets-the-culture-for-lady-raiders
Hard-Hat, Blue Collar Whitson sets the culture for Lady Raiders - GoBlueRaiders.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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