Val Whiting

Valeria Olivia Whiting (born April 9, 1972) (also known as Val Whiting-Raymond) is a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She played center for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball during her four years of pre-med study at Stanford. Among other collegiate honors, she was named Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Year two years in a row. She also played for several USA National teams as well as professional women's basketball teams.

Val Whiting
Personal information
Born (1972-04-09) April 9, 1972
South Orange, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3[1] in (1.91 m)
Career information
High schoolUrsuline Academy
(Wilmington, Delaware)
CollegeStanford (1989–1993)
WNBA draft1999 / Round: 2 / Pick: 17th overall
Selected by the Detroit Shock
PositionPower forward / Center
Number52
Career history
1996–1997San Jose Lasers
1997–1998Seattle Reign
1999Detroit Shock
2001–2002Minnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com


Early life

Whiting grew up in Wilmington, Delaware.[1] For high school, she attended Ursuline Academy[2] where, according to the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame, she "led her team to four Delaware scholastic basketball titles and was a multi-year All-State performer."[3][4]

Whiting was a pre-med student at Stanford, where she earned a BS in Biological Sciences. She deferred her acceptance to University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine in order to play basketball in Brazil and Italy.[5]

Basketball career

College years (Stanford 1989-1993)

Whiting played for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team all four years of her time at Stanford. In 1990, at the end of her rookie (freshman) season, she was named Freshman of the Year both by the Pac-10 Conference and by the Women’s Basketball News Service.[6]

Also in 1990, Whiting was on the USA team for the U.S. Olympic Festival, an amateur multi-sport event that used to be held in the years between Olympic Games by the United States Olympic Committee, which took place in Minneapolis that year.[7]

Whiting won two NCAA championships and went to the Final Four three years. Stanford also won four Pac-10 championships. She graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer and all-time leader in rebounds and blocks. She also left as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Pac-10 history. Including high school, Val has won 10 championships in total.[8]

Post-college basketball

After graduating from Stanford, Whiting postponed going to medical school in order to play more basketball. She spent a year playing in Italy, followed by two years in Brazil.[9]

Whiting was one of twelve players on the USA National team that trained at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for the 1995 Pan American Games. Because only four international women's teams registered for the event, however, the women's basketball event was cancelled.[10]

Whiting was an alternate for the 1995-1996 US Olympic women's basketball team. In 1996, the US team won the Gold Medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[5]

American Basketball League

In 1996, the American Basketball League (ABL) was the first independent professional basketball league for women in the United States. They recruited both Whiting and her Stanford teammate Jennifer Azzi for the San Jose Lasers.[5] Whiting was also chosen for to play on the "West" All-Star team in the December, 1996 ABL All-Star Game.[11]

After one season with the Lasers, during which she was their leading rebounder, Whiting was traded to the Seattle Reign in 1997.[12] In order to get Whiting, the Reign traded to the Lasers another player plus $20,000 and a third-round draft pick.[13] At the end of the 1997-1998 season, Whiting was the Reign's second in scoring (15.4) and in rebounding (7.2)[14] She played with the Seattle Reign from 1997 until, in 1998, the ABL folded.[15]

Women's National Basketball League

Whiting was drafted to the Women's National Basketball Association in 1998. She played the 1999 season for the Detroit Shock. After taking a year away from basketball, she played for two years (2001-2002) for the Minnesota Lynx.[16]

Awards and honors

College
  • Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame (inducted in 2000)[17]
  • ESPY Award Finalist
  • Naismith Award Finalist[17]
  • In 2010, ESPN named her one of the Top 25 NCAA Players of the Past 25 years.[8]
  • 2x All-American (1992, 1993) Both Kodak and U.S. Basketball Writers Association each time
  • 2x Pac-10 Player of the Year (1992, 1993)
  • 1990 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year[8]
  • 1990 National Freshman of the Year[8]
  • 2x All-Pac-10 First Team (1992, 1993)
  • Pac-10 All-Freshman Team (1990)
  • 1992 All-Final Four Team
  • 1991 West Region MVP
  • 2x All-West Region Team (1991, 1992)

· 2,077 career points

o Currently 6th all-time at Stanford and 16th in the Pac-12 o Both Stanford and conference leader at the time she graduated

· 16.1 career PPG

o Currently 7th all-time at Stanford and was 2nd when she graduated

· 481 career FT made

o Currently 4th all-time at Stanford and was 1st when she graduated

· 1,134 career rebounds

o Currently 6th all-time at Stanford and 14th in the Pac-12 o Both Stanford and conference leader at the time she graduated

· 8.8 career RPG

o Currently 3rd all-time at Stanford and 15th in the Pac-12 o Both Stanford and conference leader at the time she graduated

· 201 career blocks

o Currently 3rd all-time at Stanford and 10th in the Pac-12 o Stanford’s leader and second in conference history at the time she graduated.

Professional
  • ABL All-Star Team 1996[11]
  • WNBA Community Assist Award[18]

Hall of Fames
  • Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame
  • The Hall of Fame of Delaware Women
  • The Delaware Basketball Hall of Fame
  • Delaware Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame
  • Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.[3]

USA Basketball
  • US Olympic Festival 1990[7]
  • R. William Jones Cup Team 1991[19]
  • Was named to USA Basketball Pan-American Games Team in 1995[16]
  • Alternate to the 1995 US National team that went on to win the Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics[5]

References
  1. "52: Val Whiting". GoStanford.com. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Position Center. Height 6-3..High School Ursuline Academy. Hometown Wilmington, Del.
  2. Johnson, Derek (July 24, 2018). "Bullied as a child, former pro helps girls gain self-esteem through basketball". The Woodinville Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Some of the best days were the journey,' she said. 'Working hard every day at practice with my teammates. Being so exhausted we couldn’t walk. But knowing that we were sowing the seeds for what we’d see down the road as success. That’s what I try to pass along to the kids.'
  3. "Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame 2007 Inductees". Delaware Sports Museum. 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2020. She was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000, then the third woman to achieve this distinction. She was also a two-time participant in the U.S. Olympic Festival. At Ursuline Academy, Val led her team to four Delaware scholastic basketball titles and was a multi-year All-State performer.
  4. Gelbert, Doug (1995). The Great Delaware Sports Book. Cruden Bay Books. ISBN 0964442701. Retrieved August 9, 2020. In Delaware Val led the Ursuline Raiders to four straight state girl's basketball titles. She was the Delaware Player of the Year in her sophomore, junior, and senior years. After averaging 30.1 points and 16.1 rebounds in her last season at Ursuline, Whiting went west to Staford where she won another championship in her freshman year.
  5. Eymer, Rick (October 18, 1996). "Whiting courts health, success in new league". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved August 6, 2020. She finished her pre-med degree at Stanford following her playing career (1990-93) there, where she remains the leading scorer (2,077 points) and rebounder (1,134) in school history. She also played on two national championship teams, and was an alternate for the 1995-96 U.S. National Team, which went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta. Whiting went through the process to begin medical school in 1994, and was accepted to UC San Francisco.
  6. "Kodak First-Team All-American" (PDF). Stanford Women's Basketball Tradition. 2007. p. 122. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Val Whiting was a two-time Kodak First-Team All-American, and a two-time James Naismith Player of the Year Finalist in 1992 and 1993. She began her career for the Cardinal by being named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and National Freshman of the Year by Women’s Basketball News Service in 1990. She was an NCAA All-Final Four selection in 1992, and AllPac-10 in 1992 and 1993. During her career, Stanford accumulated a 114-16 record and won four-consecutive Pac-10 Championships and two NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1992. At the time that she finished her career, she was Stanford’s all-time leading scorer with 2,077 points and the top-rebounder with 1,134 rebounds.
  7. "US Olympic Festival". Washington Post. July 7, 1990. Retrieved August 7, 2020. In the other opening-round game, Val Whiting of NCAA champion Stanford scored her team's first 10 points and ended up with 22 to lead the West past the South, 87-76.
  8. Jackson, Melanie (January 9, 2006). "Top 25 players of past 25 years". ESPN. Retrieved August 4, 2020. After a rookie season that included Pac-10 and national freshman of the year accolades, as well as Stanford's first national championship, how could Whiting get any better? Two years later, as a junior, she guided the Cardinal to the 1992 NCAA title. Along the way, Whiting twice earned Kodak All-American honors, led Stanford to four consecutive Pac-10 championships and a 114-16 mark (.877 winning percentage). Whiting wrapped up her career as Stanford's all-time leading scorer (her 2,077 points now rank second overall) and rebounder (her 1,134 career boards now rank second), and still holds career marks in blocked shots and free throws. In 16 career NCAA Tournament games (which included three trips to the Final Four), Whiting averaged a double-double of 15.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.
  9. Kettman, Steve (October 17, 1996). "Val Whiting Recovers From Car Crash". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 6, 2020. She averaged 16.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over her four-year Stanford career, ending in 1993, and played one season in Italy and two in Brazil since.
  10. "Twelvth [sic.] Pan American Games". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2020. One of the most talented American women's basketball teams in Pan American Games history was denied a chance to win the gold medal when the 1995 Pan American Games women's basketball competition was cancelled just weeks before its scheduled start...USA Basketball conducted trials for the women's Pan Am Games Team at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, February 25-27. Following trials, the 12-member USA squad trained together in Colorado Springs until the cancellation was announced.
  11. Greenberg, Mel; Sullivan, Tara (December 8, 1996). "Stanford Vs. Tennessee Now And Forever". Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. Retrieved August 9, 2020. Meanwhile, some prominent former players of Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and Tennessee coach Pat Summitt will play in the first American Basketball League All-Star Game, in Hartford, Conn...The Stanford players include Portland’s Katy Steding and San Jose’s Sonja Henning and Val Whiting.
  12. Eymer, Rick (October 17, 1997). "WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lasers' ABL opener a Stanford reunion". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Of all the former Cardinal stars on the court Wednesday night, the biggest cheers were for Seattle's Val Whiting, a former San Jose Laser, and for Jennifer Azzi, the current Laser...Whiting was involved in a trade with Seattle that brought Charlotte Smith to San Jose. Whiting was San Jose's leading rebounder last year.
  13. Rockne, Dick (May 6, 1997). "Abl Draft -- Reign Leaves Its Trade Mark -- Deals, Picks Make Seattle Team Quicker". Seattle Times. Retrieved August 7, 2020. The Reign packaged the just-acquired Smith with its third-round choice and traded them and $20,000 to San Jose for front-liner Val Whiting, who averaged 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds last season, and the Lasers' fourth-round pick. That is the same Val Whiting who tormented the Washington Huskies for four years at Stanford.
  14. Wallingford, John (February 21, 1998). "Smiling through the Reign". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved August 9, 2020. "I never thought I'd be playing in U.S. or on television and have the opportunity to have endorsements," said Whiting, who was second on the team in scoring (15.4) and rebounding (7.2). Whiting, who played for San Jose last year, plans to attend medical school after her basketball career ends.
  15. "THE ABL: Reign remains unbeaten". Kitsap Sun. November 16, 1998. Retrieved August 6, 2020. The Reign (3-0), who handed the Lasers (2-2) their first loss a week ago in Seattle, are one of two unbeaten teams in the ABL...Val Whiting had her third consecutive double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) for the Reign, who were led by Kate Starbird's 18 points.
  16. "Stanford University – Hall of Fame". Stanford University. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved August 7, 2020. In 1995, Whiting was named to the USA Basketball Pan-American Games Team that would end up being denied a chance to play for a gold medal as the tournament was cancelled after only four teams were confirmed to play. Professionally, Whiting played domestically in the ABL for the San Jose Lasers (1996-97) and Seattle Reign (1997-98), then in the WNBA for the Detroit Shock (1999) and Minnesota Lynx (2001-02).
  17. "The Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame To Induct Class of 2000 Friday Night". Stanford University. October 27, 2000. Retrieved August 7, 2020. The 13-member Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2000 will be inducted tonight in a ceremony at the Stanford Faculty Club. ...Val Whiting, Women's Basketball: Lettered at Stanford from 1990-93, and led the Cardinal to two NCAA titles, three Final Four appearances and four Pac-10 championships
  18. 2003 WNBA Community Assist Award
  19. 1991 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP Taipei, Taiwan - June 30-July 7, 1991
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