A Coach's Calling

The church gets a lot of credit for producing some of the world’s greatest artists. Big names like Beyoncé, Usher, Carrie Underwood, even Britney Spears have ties to an early career start in a local church choir. Even though he shares a love for music, Jordan Whitening is no musician. But this basketball player too got his start in a church.

Fairfield Baptist Church introduced Whitening to the game, but the Lucious Sanders Rec team that followed, gave him his wake up call. “ You got coaches cussing, stuff that don’t happen in the church, but it was good for me. “ Whitening said. Like any athlete dedicated to their craft, Jordan went on to compete at all levels. He made the All-Star Team and went to the championship while playing at Lucious Sanders.  Junior year of high school, he started for the first time and led the varsity team as captain. And in college, his team competed in the national tournament. Through the success, it became clear his gift had evolved far beyond his two year old toddler beginnings. The instincts that first appeared in diapers eventually transformed into wise decision making, unselfish play, and true leadership.

Whitening received numerous accolades throughout his basketball career. “Student Athlete of the Year for DeKalb County,” “Player of the Month”, selected for the DeKalb County Junior All-Star Game, and finished that year top five in the county in assists per game – just to name a few. While his game took him far, across different counties, teams, and tournaments, one thing that never changed was the presence of Coach Rucker – his favorite coach from church league.

“The amount of love he showed his players…the amount of emotion and love he showed for the game made me gravitate to him as a person,” Whitening responded. When Jordan began playing basketball in middle school, Coach Rucker showed up.

When he took his skills to the high school level, Coach Rucker showed up. Not just for major moments or playoff opportunities, we’re talking early summer league days, when Jordan wasn’t even touching the court much. That kind of love and commitment for a player is never forgotten. It’s what carried Whitening through one of the toughest seasons of his life, college.

Jordan was recruited to play for Georgia Southwestern State University, however the coach that recruited him left the summer before Jordan would attend. The new coaches didn’t know Whitening like the old coaches had, and the new GSW team looked completely different from the previous. One can only imagine the kind of emotions that come with an unexpected surprise like that. Year one was all about learning and development, but the real hurt came in year two and three. Whitening said, “Going through the struggles of not playing, I was like ‘man, why is he doing this to me? What’s going on?’ I was going to him [the coach] and asking these type of questions, but it turned into, just be ready when your name is called.” And eventually his name was called.

During COVID, his GSW team ended up making the NCAA Tournament and the Conference Championship. An incredible accomplishment considering GSW hadn’t made the Division Two Tournament in almost ten years at that point.

There’s a heartbreaking point in every athlete’s career where it becomes evident it’s time to say goodbye. Jordan’s goodbye came at the close of his undergraduate college experience. Though he did have two years left of eligibility due to his redshirt year and COVID, Whitening chose to walk away.

“I’ve done my four years. I’ve had my experience. There’s been some good and bad times, but I’ve done what I felt like I needed to do.” But it’s hard to deny what’s destined for you. As previously said, journalism is what brought Jordan to UGA, but basketball is what’s kept him. After his first experience as a student, no longer student athlete, Whitening sought out opportunities for him to still stay connected to his sport. After a friend connected him with the assistant coach of the UGA women’s basketball team, Jordan began working in a managerial position his second year as a Masters student. He eventually became a practice player, but one month into the job he was asked if he would come back and work with the team as a Grad Assistant. It wasn’t difficult for Whitening to make his decision. He ended the year in his manager position and accepted their offer as Grad Assistant for the next two years. The role he currently fills today.

Working with the women’s basketball team reshaped how Jordan saw his future. “I’ve always wanted to be a coach. It was one of those things where you don’t really go to school to be a coach, you need to know somebody and work under them. With everything I have going on with Georgia, I feel like I’m in a better space to do that.” No doubt Coach Rucker would be proud of Jordan’s pursuit. He passed away after Jordan’s first year in college due to cancer, but surely he’s staring down from Heaven still supporting his student as always.

The transition from playing the game to coaching it, is a decision many athletes make. For Whitening though, there’s another layer. Basketball is basketball. The pace of players can be slower. The size of the athletes differs, but the game is still the same. Nonetheless, working on the women’s side brought about a unique experience that Whitening wasn’t expecting. “Being with a staff that is specifically all women is a little bit different. They care a little bit more about you.” Whitening described.

Two months into working with the women’s team, head coach of the Georgia women’s basketball team Coach Abe, called Jordan in to speak with him. She simply asked him, “What size clothes do you wear?” The very next day, Coach Abe presents Whitening with a big box of Georgia apparel. The gesture may seem small and insignificant to some, but for Jordan that meant a lot. He hadn’t experienced an appreciation for his work in the form of gifts or tangible objects before, and really wasn’t expecting to. He works hard and he enjoys the work he does, but unfortunately that’s something he noticed isn’t always acknowledged or valued. The care he’s received working with Coach Abe and the Georgia team, is the kind of care he aims to share once he becomes a coach.

“I think the biggest thing is me caring for players. I definitely went through some stuff with some college coaches. But I think me being a coach, I’m going to push my players to be better, and sometimes that ‘s being negative, but I’m all about being positive. Trying to uplift them as people, players, all aspects of life,”. That’s something he’s learned from Coach Rucker and will carry on throughout his entire coaching career. It’s a blessing Whitening’s experienced a balance of the bad with the good. The love and support of a good coach is the guiding light of where he wants to go. But the memories of the callous kind reminds him of the harm that could come should he stray.

Identifying and living out your purpose in life is important. Not just to know and align yourself with what you’ve been called to do, but because of the impact your calling will have on someone else’s life. The calling placed on your life often begins in the quiet places others overlook. In an age where AAU and travel teams have taken over, to hear a skilled athlete got their start from church league is a sweet surprise.

When Whitening started playing basketball, he likely never expected Coach Rucker to leave such a lasting impression on his life. Coach Rucker may have never imagined how impactful his decision to coach at Fairfield Baptist Church would eventually be to a young basketball prodigy like Jordan Whitening. Our lives are made up of a collection of choices and decisions. Oftentimes we focus our minds on how these choices will affect us or our future, but there’s another level of how our choices will influence others. Whatever you’ve been called to do, do it passionately, do it with care, because there’s always someone on the receiving end of your calling.

Now, Jordan stands on the other side of the whistle. He’s trading in jerseys for whiteboards, and minutes on the floor for moments on the sideline. But the fire is still there. The love is still there. The calling is still there. Coaching isn’t just about Xs and Os, it’s about seeing the unseen in someone else and calling it out of them. Whitening first experienced his love for the game on a church league court. Today, he echoes it forward—play by play, player by player. May his story remind you that sometimes your greatest impact won’t be in how far you go, but in how deeply you reach back. The game may change, but the calling never does.