Jim Whitesell
Jim Whitesell

Position:
Head Coach
Alma Mater:
Luther (1982)

In six seasons under the leadership of Jim Whitesell, the Loyola men's basketball program has experienced plentiful success both on and off the court. The long-time Chicago area head coach has guided the Ramblers to their only 20-plus-win season since 1985 and Loyola is one of only 17 programs in the nation to have been saluted by the NCAA with a Public Recognition Award for its Academic Progress Rate score in each of the last three years. One of his former players, Blake Schilb, participated in summer camp with the Los Angeles Clippers.

During the 2009-10 campaign, Whitesell steered his charges to the best start since 1965-66, while also sweeping the regular-season series from city and Horizon League rival UIC for the first time since 2005-06 and reeling off seven straight wins in December for its best string since late in the 2006-07 campaign. Loyola's thrilling last-second victory at Bradley in December snapped a long drought by giving the Ramblers their first win over the Braves at Carver Arena since 1984.

Individuals accomplishments were plentiful in 2009-10 as sophomore forward Walt Gibler became the first player in Loyola history to be lauded as the Horizon League's Sixth Man of the Year after putting up 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while senior guard Marcus Thomas finished his career ranked eighth on the school's career three-point field goals made list with 88. Forward Andy Polka, who shared the League lead with 8.9 rpg, also joined the elite rebounders in Loyola annals as he climbed to 10th all-time with 765 boards and with another year of eligibility remaining, he has a chance to become only the third player in school history to grab 1,000 career boards.

During the 2008-09 season, Whitesell captained his squad to a 71-67 victory at No. 15 Butler for the program's second win over a ranked team in the last three years, the program's only wins over ranked foes since 1986. Additionally, the Ramblers recorded their first win over a current member of the Southeastern Conference since 1964 whey they toppled Georgia, 74-53, in the opening round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. Loyola, which also played teams from the SEC, Big Ten and BIG EAST Conferences in the same season for the first time 1986-87, was the only Horizon League team to defeat the conference's top two finishers, Butler and Green Bay.

Whitesell has coached two of the top nine scorers in Loyola basketball annals in his short time as the bench boss in Rogers Park, and helped mold J.R. Blount into one of only five players in school history to produce over 1,500 points and 300 assists in his career. Blount also became the first player since Alfredrick Hughes, and only the third in Loyola history, to average 10.0 or more points in each of his four seasons of eligibility.

In 2008-09, his work on the bench helped the Ramblers excel in crunch time as they posted a 6-1 ledger in contests decided by five points or less. Furthermore, the 2008 senior class notched a total of 65 wins in its career, making it the winningest group since the Class of 1988 piled up 69 victories.

Turning programs around is Whitesell's forte, but he has never turned around a program as quickly as Loyola's. In three short seasons, the veteran head coach converted a nine-win team into a 21-win outfit, a remarkable 12-game improvement in only 36 months. Whitesell's 53 victories in his first three seasons in Rogers Park were the most by a Loyola head coach since Tom Haggerty won 69 games from 1945-48.

In the process, Whitesell and his staff have brought new life and excitement to the campus and community. Whitesell and his staff guided the Ramblers to their first 20-win season since 1985 in 2006-07 and their most Horizon League wins (10) since that same 1985 campaign. The Iowa Falls, Iowa native is also the first bench boss in Loyola history to win eight or more Horizon League contests in each of his first three seasons on the job.

The 2006-07 season also featured several milestone victories for the Loyola program. Under Whitesell's watchful eye, the Ramblers won at Detroit for the first time since 1992 and at Butler for the first time since 1989. In addition, the 75-71 win at No. 15 Butler was Loyola's first victory over a ranked team since 1986. With 40 wins over a two-year period from 2005-07, good for the first consecutive winning seasons in over 20 years, Loyola ranked second among Horizon League schools, behind only Butler.

A staple of most successful Whitesell teams is the ability to shut down opponents and the 2006-07 season turned out to be one of Loyola's best efforts in over half a century. The Ramblers yielded only 64.8 points per game, their best showing since 1950-51 and limited opponents to .415 shooting from the field, the best mark since 1965-66.

Under Whitesell's tutelage, guard Blake Schilb became only the second player in Loyola history to earn first team all-league honors on three or more occasions and in 2006-07, Schilb earned National Association of Basketball Coaches First Team All-District 11 accolades in addition to Mid-Major All-America status from collegeinsider.com.

Along the way to a 19-11 season in 2005-06, Loyola knocked off Bradley, Purdue and Butler, and for the first time in school history, swept the regular-season series from city and Horizon League rival UIC. The Ramblers also established a new single-season school record by converting .754 (447 for 593) of their tries from the foul line.

That season, Whitesell led Loyola to its best start to a year (7-1) since 1965-66, and was instrumental in developing Schilb into Loyola's first All-America selection since Alfredrick Hughes in 1985. Schilb earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades in addition to First Team All-Horizon League and Third Team Mid-Major All-America honors. Majak Kou was selected to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team, while Leon Young was chosen to the All-Newcomer Team.

Recruiting is a major key to success, and Whitesell and his staff have brought in some highly talented players in their first four recruiting classes. Young became the first Loyola freshman in 10 years to lead the team in rebounding and guard J.R. Blount teamed with Young to give the Ramblers their first-ever freshman duo to average in double figures in the same season. In 2006-07, Andy Polka, the 2006 Mr. Basketball in the state of Wisconsin, made an immediate impact, becoming the second straight true freshman to lead the team in rebounding, as he grabbed 230 boards, the second-highest, single-season total ever by a Rambler true freshman. Last season, Jordan Hicks scored 23 points, the most by a Loyola true freshman in three years, in the Ramblers' win at No. 15 Butler.

In 21 seasons as a head coach, Whitesell has accumulated a 357-270 (.569) record, helping six of his teams reach the NCAA Tournament. A proven winner, he has produced a winning record in 14 of those 22 campaigns, five times claiming at least 20 games.

During his first year at the Lake Shore Campus in 2004-05, Whitesell guided Loyola to a 13-win season, a four-game improvement from 2003-04, as the Ramblers earned the No. 4 seed and advanced to the semifinal round at the Horizon League Championship. Turning in arguably the finest coaching job in the conference, he captained Loyola to an 8-8 record in Horizon League action, equaling Gene Sullivan's school record for most league wins by a first-year coach, while his 13 overall victories were the most since Sullivan also won 13 in his inaugural campaign in Rogers Park in 1980-81. Making Whitesell's coaching job even more impressive was the fact that the Ramblers were picked to finish eighth in the annual preseason poll.

Loyola finished the season with a bang, winning nine of its final 13 contests, as it swept Green Bay, the second-place finisher in the Horizon League, and took two of three games from city foe UIC. Under Whitesell's tutelage, Schilb blossomed, earning First Team All-Horizon League accolades, while all six of the Ramblers' returning scholarship players established career highs in scoring average. Despite the sub-.500 record, Loyola was in nearly every contest as nine of its losses were by seven points or less.

Whitesell was introduced as Loyola's head coach on April 14, 2004. Whitesell, a 1982 graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, had served as the head coach at nearby Lewis University for the previous 12 seasons, compiling a 214-126 (.629) record there.

In 2003-04, Whitesell guided Lewis to a 24-7 record and helped the Flyers win the program's first Great Lakes Valley Conference championship in 16 years. For his efforts, Whitesell was lauded as the GLVC Coach of the Year, National Association of Basketball Coaches Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year and, for the sixth time, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year. For the first time in school history, Lewis was the No. 1 seed in the region at the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

From 2001-04, Whitesell's charges racked up a 72-22 (.766) record, the most successful three-year stint in program history, advancing to the NCAA Tournament each season. The 2002 Flyers equaled the school record with 25 victories and advanced to the Division II Sweet Sixteen.

Lewis made five trips to the Division II NCAA Tournament under Whitesell's watchful eye and won at least 18 games on seven occasions. He produced 10 winning seasons in 12 years in Romeoville and his 2003-04 team was ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation.

Off the court, Whitesell's players have been true student-athletes as over 95 percent of his pupils have graduated in his 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach. During his tenure at Lewis, Whitesell implemented several community and on-campus programs to bring support and awareness to the basketball program. Some of those initiatives included Midnight Madness and a Sixth Man Club, a program to develop enthusiasm and support for the team among the student body. Loyola's Rambler Rowdies student section was named the Horizon League's Top Student Section in 2009-10.

A master at rebuilding programs, Whitesell revived Elmhurst College by guiding the Bluejays to a 19-9 record and the school's first-ever NCAA Division III Championship berth in 1991-92. In five seasons at Elmhurst (1987-92), he turned around a program that had not posted a winning campaign in 17 previous years.

Prior to his appointment at Elmhurst, Whitesell served as an assistant coach at Minnesota State University (formerly Mankato State) from 1985-87, at Wabash Valley Community College in 1984-85 and at Ellsworth Community College in 1983-84.

Whitesell graduated from Luther College in 1982 after attending Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. He earned a master's degree in education from the University of North Dakota in 1983.

Whitesell and his wife Connie, a partner with the human resources consulting firm PW Associates, reside in Chicago.