Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
Four years ago, Mario Whitley was not even convinced he belonged on the varsity team at Frankenmuth.
Nowadays, confidence isn’t an issue at all as Whitley is one of the leading scorers in the state and a Saginaw Valley State commit who has helped guide the Eagles to a 9-1 start this season.
“In the summer and even the fall leading into his freshman year he did not want to play with the varsity,” Frankenmuth head coach Andy Donovan said. “He didn’t think he was ready and finally during some workouts that fall, he started to come around. The rest is history. He made his mark pretty quickly.”
Whitley averaged a very respectable 10.7 points per game as a freshman despite his reservations about being ready for the varsity level. He improved that to a 15.3 average his sophomore season, while as a junior he took a huge jump forward and poured in 25 per.
Now he is once again bumping his scoring average up, boosted by a recent 37-point explosion in a 68-52 victory at Reese. Whitley is also tallying 9.6 rebounds, 4.1 steals, 2.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per game as an all-around star on the hardwood.
“All four years he’s improved,” Donovan said. “He’s always been a guy who could rebound the ball and finish around the rim, plus he could catch and shoot it. But over the course of four years he’s become a really good passer and created his own shot more. He’s also become a really good defender.”
For the last couple seasons, there has been no element of surprise in Whitley’s game as every opponent knows exactly what he brings to the table. With drawing so much attention from defenses, he has to work for every basket he gets and has managed to do so with flying colors.
Prior to his senior season of basketball, Whitley made the decision to play high school football. He had previously played two games on varsity as a junior before quitting.
Needless to say, he was also a rousing success on the gridiron.
In nine games played, Whitley caught six passes for 185 yards and five of the receptions went for touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a score.
Donovan barely even had to worry about injury with Whitley because no one could touch him.
“There was a point well into the season where he hadn’t even been tackled all year,” Donovan quipped. “He either returned a kick or caught a pass for a touchdown every time. Coaches commented on his physicality in practice and I thought the whole experience was good for him. It allowed Mario to have a fall where basketball wasn’t his sole focus.”
Frankenmuth finished the football season with a 12-1 record, not losing until the Division 5 semifinals when it fell to five-time defending state champion Grand Rapids West Catholic.
Despite the commitment to Saginaw Valley State, Whitley is still getting inquiries from various college coaches on a regular basis as he is clearly a hot commodity as a player so many programs would love to add.
“There’s always people filling your ear and coaches that still call,” Donovan remarked. “So saying that committing to SVSU in November was a relief is sort of a cliche answer. Ultimately it is on Mario to be done with the recruiting process. It is on him to decide whether Saginaw Valley State is the place he wants to be. If it is, that’s great for him.”
Frankenmuth fell 68-52 last season to Lake Fenton in the Class B regional hosted by Corunna. With a loaded roster led by Whitley and senior point guard Sam Gray (15.7 ppg, 5.0 apg), it appears the Eagles are a prime candidate for an even deeper run this March.
Frankenmuth has never won a boys basketball state championship.