advertisement

Whitehouse resigns at Hampshire

Ben Whitehouse said the decision to resign as Hampshire boys basketball coach Wednesday was difficult in one regard but a no brainer in another.

Whitehouse spent the last 17 years coaching at his alma mater, the last four as head coach (38-81). He returned the Whip-Purs to a competitive level this season (15-17) on the heels of a 5-win campaign in 2017-18 and the future looks promising with three of the team's top four scorers returning next year.

However, Whitehouse and wife Kim, who commutes to work in Chicago, are expecting a baby in April. He also has two daughters from a previous marriage who are involved in year-round sports.

There won't be enough time in the day to teach physical education at Hampshire, coach basketball, attend his daughters' events and care for a newborn simultaneously.

"We just started doing the math and adding up the minutes of the day," Whitehouse said. "I mean, it's tough to walk away from what should be a really successful run for the next few years with a lot of talent coming in, but I can't short change it and practice until 4 o'clock so I can go home and get my child from day care. It's not right for our program and it's not right for me to short change my family for basketball.

"It's a hard decision, but, ultimately, it's an easy decision."

Whitehouse, 37, was a three-sport athlete who was named Hampshire's 1999 athlete of the year. He called it "an incredible feeling" when he was named head coach in April 2015, succeeding 13-year coach Bob Barnett, an IBCA Hall of Fame inductee.

Whitehouse has seen Hampshire grow from Class 1A to Class 4A during his time as a coach.

"I look back at 17 years and all the growth in our program and it's one of those bittersweet deals," he said. "I know a lot of the fourth-graders right up to our current juniors. I'll still be able to teach and interact with the guys and talk hoops. I just won't be their head coach doing it."

Hampshire athletic director Mike Sitter said Whitehouse will remain a resource.

"Hopefully, he will still be someone the new coach can lean on," Sitter said, "but at the end of the day Ben had to do what is best for his family. He was being pulled in a lot of directions this season."

Sitter, who was the head boys basketball coach at Elgin for 11 seasons through 2017-18, said the search for a new coach begins in earnest.

"We'll open it up and see who applies," he said. "We'll also have to see what teaching openings we have. I know a lot of coaches in the area and they know me so I think it will go relatively smoothly."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.