Bob Whitmore was a pioneer for the Notre Dame basketball program The DeMatha (Md.) Catholic High School product chose to attend Notre Dame after an outrageous high school career that saw his team go 55-3 over his junior and senior seasons, even beating Lew Alcindor and Power Memorial (NY) in 1965.
It was at Notre Dame where Whitmore would again meet up with Alcindor, jumping against the legend in the first jump ball ever performed at the Joyce Center.
Whitmore scored 1580 points and secured 1053 rebounds in his three seasons for the Fighting Irish and helped lead them to the NIT Semi-finals his junior year before an NCAA Tournament appearance his senior season.
Current Notre Dame head basketball coach and fellow-DeMatha graduate Mike Brey remembered the Irish legend on Saturday.
“We have lost one of our great players, but also a great gentleman. Bob Whitmore laid a foundation for this program that is still being felt to this day. My thoughts and prayers go out to Bob’s family, friends and former teammates.” – Mike Brey
Whitmore helped establish a Notre Dame pipeline to the Washington, D.C. area which in turn helped direct Austin Carr, Adrian Dantley, Collis Jones, Sid Catlett, Don Williams, Jerian Grant, Prentiss Hubb and others to play basketball at Notre Dame.
Whitmore recorded 47 double-doubles in his 84 games at Notre Dame and finished with a career average of 18.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Whitmore’s six 20-point/20-rebound games remain the most in Notre Dame basketball history to this day.
Whitmore had been sick with a variety of health issues but was able to make it back to campus in 2019 to be inducted into the Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor.
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Bob Whitmore was 73 years old.