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Hampshire names Whitehouse new boys basketball coach

Hampshire graduate and longtime assistant coach Ben Whitehouse realized a lifelong goal on Monday when he was named the new boys basketball coach at his alma mater.

Whitehouse, 33, was Hampshire's athlete of the year as a three-sport athlete in 1999. He spent the last 13 basketball seasons as an underlevel and assistant varsity coach at the school in addition to 12 seasons as an assistant football coach.

He succeeds Bob Barnett, who announced his retirement from coaching in February after 13 seasons.

"This community - going to school here, living here, coming back to coach here - it's just a special place to me," Whitehouse said. "It's always been a goal of mine to be the head coach of our program and the opportunity presented itself. It's just surreal to be named the head coach. It's an incredible feeling."

Whitehouse's coaching career at Hampshire began while he was still a senior at Northern Illinois University, where he completed his undergraduate and Master's degrees.

He was hired to coach Hampshire's freshmen boys basketball team in 2002-03, the same season Barnett was hired to lead the varsity. Whitehouse's first group of freshmen included Jake Goebbert, a future three-sport star who now plays baseball professionally.

"Ben has served the Hampshire athletic program as a coach for 25 different sports seasons as a successful sophomore coach and assistant varsity coach over the past 13 years," Hampshire athletic director David Hicks said in a release. "He was an important part of our success in this year's playoffs. We look forward to continued growth and success of the program under coach Whitehouse."

The new coach inherits some key players returning from the 2014-15 regional championship team that finished 17-12, including 6-foot-3 junior-to-be Brennen Woods (10.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and 6-5 senior-to-be Luke Tuttle (6.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg).

Whitehouse said he prefers to employ man-to-man defense but will mix defenses depending on the situation. Offensively, his philosophy is to space the floor and share the basketball.

"What people are going to see is a team that competes every single night," Whitehouse said. "We're going to be enthusiastic on the floor, on the bench. We're going to be engaged in the game and seek team basketball. Style-wise, we want to push the ball a little more and create extra offensive possessions.

"Ultimately, we're just going to battle and compete and be hard-nosed."

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