June 3, 2008

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Former Marist guard Will Whittington, the program's all-time leader in three-pointers, has signed a contract to play professionally for the Hanzevast Capitals in Holland. A 2007 Marist graduate, Whittington is currently playing for the Elkhart Express of the International Basketball League. He has also played professionally in Turkey.

The Hanzevast Capitals were the 2003-04 champions of the Netherlands, and the team competes in the top division in the country. The team's upcoming season will run from this fall to the spring of 2009.

"It's a great feeling that all the hard work I've put in has paid off," Whittington said.

Whittington drained 362 three-pointers in his four years as a Red Fox. With 1,586 career points, he ranks fourth on Marist's all-time scoring list. He was named Third Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference as a sophomore and as a junior, and earned Second Team All-MAAC honors as a senior. In each of his last three collegiate seasons, Whittington averaged over 15 points per game.

The connection between the Marist men's basketball program and Holland runs back over two decades. Rik Smits, who played at Marist from 1985-88 and was the second overall choice by the Indiana Pacers in the 1988 NBA Draft, is a native of Eindhoven, Holland. Smits totaled 1,945 points and 811 rebounds in his Marist career. Another Holland native, 7-foot-1 Wilbert Den Ouden, was a member of the Red Foxes from 1989-93.