Ron Whitelow has loved basketball since he first started playing at 6 years old, but when he graduated from Olive Branch High School in Memphis, Tennessee, collegiate play was not on his mind. Instead, he followed a family tradition of enlisting in the military.
Ron served in the Army from 2012 to 2016. He deployed to Afghanistan and worked to obtain intel from Afghan citizens in exchange for admission into the US.
While Ron was at Fort Hood, he participated in the base’s high-level basketball games, and his passion for the sport was given a new life. When he returned home, Ron had two goals: to stay close to his family and to play college basketball. (Mauch, Army veteran walks on to WC basketball team)
In 2016, the day Ron Whitelow got out of the military, he walked-on to the Weatherford College basketball team. The Coyotes coach, Mark Osina, was proud to welcome Ron onto the team:
“What this guy has been through and experienced is something everyone can learn from. It doesn’t matter if it’s on a basketball team of just life in general” (qtd. in Mauch).
Ron, currently in his sophomore season on the Coyotes basketball team, has already established himself as a leader on the team:
“The younger guys can look to me for anything, basketball or life” (qtd. in Mauch).
Eventually, Ron hopes to coach a basketball team of his own.
