| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 1 |
Alma Mater: Kentucky State [1953]
Hometown: Lexington, KY
Date Born: January 8, 1930
Date Died: May 10, 2015
Overall Record: 566-356 [32 Seasons]
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2/2003 | Alcorn State at Kentucky | W | 94 - 63 | - |
Obituary - Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger (May 11, 2015)
"The Wiz" Dies at Age 85
Whitney coached school to 12 SWAC championships, six NCAA appearances
by Hugh Kellenberger
Davey Whitney, the man who coached Alcorn State to NCAA Tournament history, died Sunday at the age of 85.
Whitney led Alcorn State to a win against South Alabama in the first round of the 1980 basketball tournament, the first time a historically black college or university had won a NCAA game. Alcorn was the No. 8 seed and its loss to No. 1 seed LSU in the second round was only the second of the season.
Whitney, nicknamed "The Wiz," won 12 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships during two separate tenures at the school, first from 1969-89 and again from 1996-2003. Alcorn State also won NCAA Tournament games in 1983 and 1984, making the dance six times. It beat Mississippi State in the 1979 NIT, as well.
But Alcorn State still fired Whitney after three-straight losing seasons, setting him off on a journey in the pro basketball minor leagues. The school named its gym after him and then ended up rehiring him. Whitney said in an interview that what happened in 1989 gnawed on him, but he was happy to come back and still have success.
"To bring the program back to where it is right now, I'd have to say it's satisfying," Whitney told the Clarion-Ledger in 2000. "I'm sure a whole lot of people are surprised. I know there were a lot of people that doubted if I could do the job. In fact, there were some people who didn't even want me here."
"We've had some low points, and we've had some high points. I just kept my mind on succeeding. There was never any doubt in my mind that we would succeed."
Whitney had a 566-356 career record, and was head coach at Texas Southern from 1964-69.
Whitney leaves behind his wife of 62 years, Bernice, five children and four grandchildren. The family is expected to release a statement at a later date. He was a resident of Biloxi.
A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Whitney graduated from Kentucky State and began his athletic career as a shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs. He actually was the man who replaced Ernie Banks when the latter signed with the Chicago Cubs, and Whitney was thought to have promise himself. But a two-year tour in the Army helped to end his baseball career, and Whitney became a high school coach before moving on to college.
Whitney, a 1991 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame inductee, was selected for the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
"In Davey Whitney and (fellow inductee) Tex Winter we have two great coaches who contributed so much to the game," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said at the time.
