2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster
Brandon Whitney
- Class:
- Junior
- Position:
- Guard
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-1 / 183
- Hometown:
- Mission Hills, Calif.
- High School:
- Bishop Alemany H.S.
Whitney ends his Montana career as the Big Sky’s all-time leader in minutes played (4,751) and games started (151). Montana’s all-time leader in career assists (443), he also ranks 9th in program history with 1,620 points.
2024-25 (Graduate): Second Team All-Big Sky… Big Sky Tournament MVP… Big Sky All-Defensive Team… started all 35 games, averaging 29.6 minutes per game… averaged 9.3 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game… Montana went 15-0 when Whitney scored in double figures… averaged 11.2 points per game in Griz wins, and just 4.7 points in Griz losses… scored in double figures in 6 of the final 9 games against Big Sky opponents… played at least 30 minutes in seven straight games to close the regular season and go into the Big Sky Tournament… played over 30 minutes in 18 games… shot over 50 percent from the floor in 22 games… led Montana in minutes 13 times, the most on the team… led the Grizzlies in assists 10 times and scoring six times… scored a season-high 24 points in a Big Sky quarterfinal win over Northern Arizona (3/9), going 8-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line… scored 18 points in a win at Sacramento State (2/27)… scored 18 points on 7-of-9 (.778) shooting from the floor in the Big Sky Championship game, making both of his attempts from the arc… scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in a win over Portland State (1/30)… went 116-of-211 (.550) from the floor on the season, making 18-of-48 (.375) three-point attempts… went 74-of-89 (.831) from the free throw line… finished his career ranked in the top 100 in NCAA history in minutes played… recorded a season-high 8 assists at St. Thomas (12/7)… also matched it with 8 assists at Eastern Washington (1/2)… had multiple assists in 23 different games… had multiple rebounds in 23 games… held Preseason Big Sky MVP Trent McLaughlin without a made three and limited him to just 28 percent shooting in the first meeting with Northern Arizona, the first time all season that McLaughlin didn’t make a three… made his 500th career field goal in a win over Montana Tech (12/10), becoming the 12th player in program history with at least 500 career baskets… his 18 made threes were the most in a single season in his career… had 93 total assists, the 2nd most in a single season in his career… had 23 steals on the year… recorded at least 20 steals in all five seasons at Montana… recorded season-high 6 rebounds in Big Sky semifinal win over Idaho (3/11).
2023-24 (Senior): Honorable Mention All-Big Sky Conference… Big Sky Conference All-Tournament Team… appeared in 36 games, starting 31 of them… averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game… became just the third player in program history with four different seasons averaging at least 10.0 points per game… set new single season career highs with 104 rebounds and 148 assists… played 31.5 minutes per game… shot 51.0 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from three-point range, and 81.3 percent from the free throw line… Whitney ranked 18th in the country in assist/turnover ratio at 3.08… his 4.1 assists per game were 6th in the Big Sky and 133rd in the country… scored 24 points on 75 percent shooting to go with 5 assists and 4 rebounds in a win over Weber State (1/22)… matched his season high with 24 points in 42 minutes of action in Montana’s overtime loss to Northern Colorado (1/11)… also reached the 20-point mark in a road win over Idaho State, shooting 9-of-14 (.643) from the floor while dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 7 rebounds… just the third Griz player since 2010 with at least 20 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in a game, joining Kareem Jamar and Sayeed Pridgett… scored in double-figures in seven straight games from 1/20-2/8, and had an extended streak of 11 double-digit scoring games out of 12… scored in double-figures 20 times on the season… averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game at the Big Sky Tournament to earn a spot on the five-man All-Tournament team… recorded a career-high 11 assists in just 27 minutes in a win over Northern Arizona (1/13)… had multiple games with 9 assists, on the road at Idaho State (12/30) and on the road against Northern Arizona (2/8), both Montana wins… recorded 7 assists in a home rivalry win over Montana State (2/17)… averaged 7.0 assists per game in Montana’s two wins during the Big Sky-Summit Challenge… had multiple assists in 33 different games during the year, including a streak of 28 straight games with two or more assists… had 11 games with at least 5 assists during the year… made his 100th career start as a Grizzly at Portland State (1/25)… scored his 1,000th career point in a road win over Idaho State (12/30)… became one of just 8 players in program history with 1,000 points, 250 rebounds, and 250 assists… season-high seven rebounds at Idaho State… had more turnovers than assists in a game just four times all season as Montana’s primary ball-handler… had started 91 straight games before coming off the bench vs. San Jose St. (12/2)… had two games with seven rebounds, first vs. Montana Tech (12/9) and again at Idaho State (12/30)… had 6 rebounds at Montana State (1/20), and again vs. the Bobcats in the Big Sky Championship game… shot over 50 percent in a game 21 times… had a streak of 7 straight games shooting 50 percent or better from 12/17-1/11… made 91 free throws, shooting 81.3 percent from the line to rank 5th in the Big Sky and 174th in the NCAA… Montana ranked 42nd in the country and 1st in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.45), led by Whitney… went 7-for-7 from the free throw line vs. Northern Colorado (1/11)… led Montana in assists 19 times and scoring 7 times… in the Big Sky regular season, Whitney had 92 assists to just 23 turnovers.
2022-23 (Junior): Started all 29 of his appearances for Montana… tied for third on Montana and ranked 23rd in the Big Sky with 11.2 points per game… averaged 30.4 minutes per game… tied for sixth on the team in rebounding with 2.3 per game… 71 total assists ranked second on Montana… made the game-winning shot with 11 seconds left in a 67-66 win against Northern Arizona (2/4)… also had a season-high six assists in the win… made his first eight field goals field goals of the game against Weber State (2/11), finishing with 18 points in a road win… scored in double figures in the final four games of the year, including both Big Sky Tournament games… scored a season-high 23 points in a win against South Dakota State (12/6)… had 16 total games scoring in double-figures… Whitney shot better than 50 percent in 13, 60 percent in 11 and 75 percent in eight of them… ended season with 924 career points, and has averaged at least 10 points per game in all three seasons in Missoula… led Montana by shooting 56.7 percent from the floor… also shot 75.9 percent from the free throw line… season-high six rebounds and three steals on the road against Southern Miss (11/29)… ended season with 14 straight games with a rebound… ranked 13th in the Big Sky with 2.45 assists per game… tied for 17th in the Big Sky and third on Montana with four 20-point games… ranked 19th in the Big Sky with 30.4 minutes per game… during Montana’s back-to-back wins against South Dakota State and North Dakota State, Whitney made 18-of-22 field goal attempts (81.8 percent) and averaged 22.5 points per game… had at least one assist in 26 of 29 games… fourth on the team with 20 steals… led Montana in minutes six times and scoring five times… led the team in assists and steals in nine games… had at least one assist in eight of the first nine games of the season.
2021-22 (Sophomore): Started all 29 games that he played in, averaging 30.2 minutes per game… Ranked second on the team for assists (61) and third for scoring (11.0)… Ranked seventh in the Big Sky Conference with a .792 free-throw percentage (95-of-120)… During Big Sky play, ranked 23rd for assists (2.05 per game) and 29th for scoring (11.8 per game)… Was one of the league’s top defenders, often matching up against opponents’ top scorers – and often shutting them down… Prime examples include: Idaho’s Mikey Dixon (zero points on 0-of-6 shooting after entering the contest averaging a Big Sky-best 21.8 points per game; Eastern Washington’s Steele Venters (five points on 2-of-9 shooting after entering averaging 18.1 points per game); and Northern Arizona’s Jalen Cone (12 points on 3-of-12 shooting after entering averaging 18.4 points per game)… Scored in double figures 17 times, including eight consecutive games from Jan. 22-Feb. 12… During that stretch, he averaged 14.8 points per game on .527 shooting, also adding 19 assists and 11 steals… Was one of 14 Big Sky players in 2021-22 to score 30 points in a game, tallying 30 at North Dakota (Nov. 15), scoring 14 of Montana’s final 16 points and being the only player to make a field goal over the game’s final 11 minutes… The 30 points were the most by a Griz sophomore in more than a decade… Playing a season-high 43 minutes, shot 7-of-11 from the floor (plus 11-of-12 from the free-throw line) while scoring 25 points vs. Northern Arizona (Feb. 10)… In addition to 15 points in a win at Northern Arizona (Jan. 22), he also added a career-high-tying three steals and career-most two blocked shots… Scored a team-high-tying 19 points in a win at Eastern Washington, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor… In addition to 8.5 points per game in wins over Idaho State (Dec. 30) and Weber State (Jan. 1), he also added seven assists compared to just one turnover… Recorded a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, tallying a negative ratio just five times in 29 games.
2020-21 (Freshman): Recipient of the John Eaheart Memorial Award, given annually to the team’s top defensive player… Ranks fourth in Griz history with 279 points scored as a true freshman… Along with freshman teammates Josh Bannan and Robby Beasley III, the trio set a Montana freshman record with 751 points scored, accounting for 37.9 percent of the team’s scoring (also a school record)… The group also combined to play more than 2,000 minutes, second only to Kansas State, and was the country’s only team in 2020-21 to have three true freshmen average at least 25.0 minutes per game… Averaged a team-high 29.3 minutes per game, one of 10 true freshmen nationally to play at least 815 minutes in 2020-21… Ranked second on the team with 279 points scored (10.0 points-per-game average), in addition to also ranking second for assists (70) and steals (23)… Led Montana for minutes played a team-high eight times, steals a team-most nine times and scoring on five occasions… Was in double figures for scoring 14 times, including four straight games from Jan. 16-Feb. 4… During that span, averaged 19.5 points per game on .560 shooting, including a career-high 22 points vs. Northern Arizona (Jan. 16), which was surpassed two games later with 28 at Sacramento State (Jan. 23)… The 28 points were the most by a Montana true freshman since Sayeed Pridgett in January 2017... Against the Hornets, he also totaled a career-best 13 made field goals (most by a Big Sky player in 2020-21), five rebounds and 49 minutes of action… Shot .467 from the floor on the season… Ranked second on the team with 70 assists, including four or more dimes nine times… His 3.0 assists-per-game average during Big Sky play ranked ninth in the league… Recorded a positive assist-to-turnover ratio 20 times, including three occasions in which he has had five or more assists compared to one or fewer turnovers (vs. Weber State, Feb. 11; at Portland State, Feb. 6; vs. Northern Arizona, Jan. 14)… After turning the ball over eight times at Portland State (Feb. 4), had a 15:4 assist-to-turnover ratio over the next three games (Feb. 6-13)... Recorded career highs for assists (six) and rebounds (six) vs. Weber State (Feb. 11)... Had a steal in 14 games, and multiple steals seven times… Scored 20 points vs. Warner Pacific (March 6), his third 20-point performance of the season… Tallied 14 points at Idaho State (Feb. 25), before sinking a game-winning free throw in the closing seconds the following game (Feb. 27)… Set a Montana record with 17 points at USC (Nov. 28), the most points ever by a freshman in a season opener.
High School: Is a 2020 graduate of Bishop Alemany High School outside of Los Angeles… Averaged 26.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game as a senior, helping the Warriors win 21 games... Earned numerous postseason accolades, including first-team all-state (Cal-Hi Sports), first team All-CIF Southern Section and first-team all-area... Named All-Mission League for the third year in a row, including the second consecutive season on the first team... Scored 43 points in a win over Heritage Christian... Named MVP of the SoCal Christmas Classic, scoring 29 points in the championship game... Averaged 17.8 points, 4.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game as a junior in 2018-19… Earned All-Mission League honors for the second year in a row… That summer, while playing in a summer tournament in Fairfax, scored 39 points in a win over Santa Monica… Committed to Montana over a reported offer from CSUN and interest from Southern Utah… Played against current Grizzlies Eddy Egun and Kyle Owens in southern California.
Personal: Born and raised in Mission Hills, California... Parents are Emad and Irene Whitney... Mother played basketball at Pierce College, and later served as an assistant coach... Father coached at the high-school level... Has a younger sister, Jordyn... Majoring in business administration.
