St. Augustine guard Gage Whitton looks to craft leadership based on Michael Jordan
SAN DIEGO — ESPN Film’s miniseries, The Last Dance, revolves around Michael Jordan’s basketball career, specifically with the Chicago Bulls. During his time spent with the club, he led the team to six NBA Finals and won all of them. His leadership and hard work made this possible and encouraged his fellow teammates, thus enhancing their camaraderie on and off the court. After watching The Last Dance, St. Augustine High School’s shooting guard, Gage Whitton, tries his best to emulate Jordan’s leadership qualities in the hopes of forming stronger bonds among other players, eventually leading to more success.
Since Whitton was a toddler, all he talked about, thought about and did were sports. He remembers waking up in the mornings and flipping on the TV to SportsCenter instead of Nickelodeon or Disney Channel. Once he got a bit older, Whitton’s parents started allowing him and his older brother to play video games. However, they limited them to E-rated games to ensure they were not playing any with violence at such a young age. With that rule in place, Whitton and his brother started to play sports games like NBA 2K.
“I remember my mom giving me 20 dollars to buy a game, and 2K was on sale, and it looked the most fun, so I got it,” Whitton said.
Whitton played it every day after school and always made sure he played as Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. The more he played and continued to destroy other teams with the help of Rose’s high player rating and skill set, Whitton took a liking to basketball. He eventually asked his mother to sign him up for a recreational league at the nearby Boys and Girls Club, where he quickly picked up the game. After playing with small, local teams for a few seasons, Whitton decided he wanted to take it more seriously. So his parents signed him up for the local travel team, the Solana Beach Bearcats Select.
Because of the fundamentals he learned from playing in other leagues, Whitton made the young third-grade team easily after tryouts. From then on, he played for the Bearcats until he enrolled at St. Augustine High School in the fall of 2018.
“Everything I know about basketball and my everyday work ethic stemmed from that [Solana Beach Bearcats Select] program,” the six-foot shooting guard said.
The skills he learned from the program helped him earn a spot on the Saints freshman basketball team. Because he played for a well-known program in elementary school and certainly proved it in practice every day, he quickly became the team’s leader in the eyes of his teammates and coaches. He made the junior varsity team the following year and led that team as well, but his leadership role changed once he made the varsity squad his third year.
The Saints have always been one of the best high school basketball programs, not only in San Diego, but in California thanks to Coach Michael Haupt’s expertise. Therefore, competition for playing time exists within the program.
Whitton chose to compete for a spot on one of the most talented teams in the county, rather than taking the easier route and being able to start on another team. With all of the talent on the Saints team, it does not allow consistent playing time for many of players including Whitton, but his contribution off the court is no less valuable to the team when he is in the game.
This did not affect his attitude towards either the game nor his role as a teammate. Whitton never fails to cheer on his friends while on the sideline. When playing, he is sure to hype up any player who makes a big play and to be the backbone of whatever play they were running.
“Gage is the Elmers Glue of Saints basketball,” junior guard Jaden Matingou said.
With their skill and the help of Whitton’s never-ending encouragement and leadership, the Saints finished the abnormal 2020-21 season as the No. 22 ranked team in the state. The team has
been working out and practicing over the summer to prepare for this year’s season.
“I am excited for this season, and I am looking forward to hanging out and getting even
closer with my teammates than I already am,” Whitton said.
He is anxious to get back out on the court, but this time in front of fans and his classmates. With fans in the stands and Whitton supporting the team on the court, expect the Saints to once again be one of the best programs in all of California.
