January 27, 2002 — Antione Whelchel always had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was a mischievous child. And he was never very good about not getting caught. But 15 months ago, Whelchel was an adult, and he got himself into serious trouble. Very serious.

Whelchel was sitting in a jail cell in Murray, Ky. He was charged with first-degree rape.

Whelchel, a 1999 East Hall High graduate, was a college sophomore at the time, attending Murray State University on a basketball scholarship. But Whelchel, academically ineligible his freshman year, had yet to play in a game for the Racers.

And after two nights in the Calloway County Jail, Whelchel was wondering if he ever would. He was angry. He was scared. The only thing that gave him comfort was the knowledge that he had done nothing wrong.

Antione Whelchel • Age: 21 • Physical: 6-foot-5, 241 pounds • Family: father Tony, 51; stepmother Bettye, 53; mother Annie, 51; sister Chadale, 34; sister Trina Niles, 34 • College: Junior at Murray State University (Ky.). ... Started all 19 games this season. ... Second on the team in points (11.8), rebounds (7.6) and assists (2.4). ... Averaging a team-high 32.8 minutes per game. ... Named to preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference second team. ... As a sophomore, averaged 11.2 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds. Started first 12 games of season, brought off the bench for final 17. ... Had 27 points and 12 rebounds in college debut Nov. 20, 2000. ... Earned honorable mention All-OVC honors. ... Academically ineligible as freshman. •High school: 1999 East Hall graduate. ... Scored 2,033 points in Vikings career, third-most in East Hall history. ... Helped lead Vikings to Class AA final four as a freshman and senior. ... Named first-team All-State as a senior after averaging 23.8 points and 11 rebounds. ... Named second-team All-State as a junior after averaging 22.4 points and 13.6 rebounds. ... The Times All-Area Boys Player of the Year in 1998 and '99.

"It was tough," said Whelchel, who scored 2,033 points in four seasons at East Hall.

"But it made me appreciate things a lot more. Maybe I didn't take class so serious. Or maybe I didn't take basketball so serious. But sitting in that cell made me realize that I need to take more advantage of what I got going for me instead of taking it for granted. And I think I did."

The charges against Whelchel were eventually dropped. Whelchel's accuser admitted she had lied. But the damage had already been done. Whelchel's reputation was tarnished.

Still, those close to Whelchel suggest the ordeal sparked a change inside the former high school basketball star. Whelchel had matured. He was no longer a misbehaving kid. He was a man.

Whelchel averaged 11.2 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds as a sophomore for Division I Murray State, earning honorable mention All-Ohio Valley Conference honors in the process.

A 6-foot-5, 241-pound forward, Whelchel has emerged as the team leader for the Racers (9-10, 3-4 OVC) this season. He was second on the team in points (11.8 ppg), rebounds (7.6 rpg) and assists (2.4 apg) entering Saturday's game with Eastern Kentucky.

He turned things around in the classroom, as well, and is now set to graduate on time with a degree in physical education.

"Antione has matured so much. Sometimes I can't recognize him when he comes home," Whelchel's father Tony said. "He has always been a caring person, but he is not as, for lack of a better word, 'wild.' That year, he put everything in perspective. And this is his best year athletically and academically."

Nine days of hell

But for nine long days in the fall of 2000, Antione Whelchel's life was hell.

He was arrested Oct. 21 for a rape that allegedly took place more than a month earlier. Oct. 23, he was released on bail and suspended from the Murray State basketball team indefinitely. Oct. 30, he was cleared of all charges after his accuser conceded that the sex was consensual. The Racers reinstated Whelchel immediately.

"Until I got cleared, everything was kind of shaky," Whelchel said. "It was hard for me to walk on campus after I got out on bail. It was kind of funny walking on campus, because you felt those people that you know looking at you funny. 'Did he do that?' 'Is that him?' I felt that doubt in people. But once I got cleared, everything got back to normal."

Well, not exactly. Whelchel, who lived in a dormitory at the time of his arrest, has not lived on campus since.

"I wouldn't say that I trust people less, but I don't put myself in those types of positions anymore," said Whelchel, who met his accuser at a birthday party for another Murray State basketball player. "When you get to college, you hear about how it's fun, parties and girls. It's supposed to be the most enjoyable time of your life, and I think I got so wrapped up in it and I just made one of those college mistakes."

Tony Whelchel was watching Game 1 of the 2000 World Series when he learned of his son's "college mistake." Antione called him from jail but wouldn't say why he was there. The tone of Antione's voice, however, told Tony that this wasn't Antione's typical type of trouble.

"Antione would get into a lot of, you know, kid stuff," his stepmother Bettye Whelchel said. "His dad would always say, 'Lord, what am I going to do with this boy?' Some kids get away with it and some kids don't. Antione was the one who always got caught."

Added Tony, "Antione was a good kid. He was a kid that got in trouble with mischievous stuff. He wasn't the type of kid to go out and take anything from anybody."

Imagine Tony's shock, then, when a Murray State coach followed Antione's call with news that Antione was charged with rape.

"Oh man, that was a killer," said Tony, who works with Bettye at a ball bearing factory in Flowery Branch. "I knew that we had raised him better than that. I had no doubt in my mind that he didn't commit that type of act, but it was just frightening that everything he worked for was going to be thrown down the drain."

The Whelchels jumped in their car and drove through the night, 400 miles to their son, locked in a jail cell in southwestern Kentucky.

"That was the longest and the worst trip I ever made to Murray," said Tony Whelchel, who had to wait several hours before he could see his son. "He was frightened. The poor fellow was in jail. And he had one of those old-timey uniforms on, the ones with the stripes. It was a horror to see him that way."

Tony had $4,000 wired to Murray to cover Antione's bail and legal fees. He had to come up with even more money to put Antione up in an apartment. Tony and Bettye stayed in Murray for three days. They left after they were assured that the charges would be dropped. And, they were. But Antione Whelchel will never forget those nine long days in October.

"I was ready just to give up and go home," Whelchel said. "It hurt me, it really did. It hurt me and my family, and I think it kind of hurt my reputation a little bit. But those who believed in me and those who really knew me knew the truth. They stuck by me through thick and thin. And the truth finally came out."

Less than one month after his arrest, Whelchel was Murray State's starting power forward in the season opener. The Racers defeated Gardner Webb, 103-76, and Whelchel led his team with 27 points and 12 rebounds in front of Murray State's home crowd. The 27 points is still a career high.

"I think he had something to prove," Tony said. "'Hey, I'm still the guy that I used to be. I'm not that monster.' They printed a lot of stuff in the paper up there that was distasteful."

Finally, Whelchel could be a basketball player again. That's all he wanted to be known as in the first place.

Always 'a warrior'

Whelchel is one of the most dominant players in East Hall's storied history. He was The Times All-Area Boys Player of the Year in 1998 and '99, and a first-team all-state selection in '99. He played on two Class AA final four teams, in '96 as a freshman and '99 as a senior.

Whelchel averaged 23.8 points and 11 rebounds as a senior and 22.4 points and 13.6 rebounds as a junior, when he was named second team all-state. His 2,033 career points are the third most in East Hall history.

"I consider him a warrior," East Hall coach Seth Vining said. "He always played hard. He was always phenomenal around the basket, as far as being able to catch and finish."

Murray State coach Tevester Anderson first stumbled upon Whelchel at an AAU tournament in Las Vegas the summer before his senior year at East Hall.

"He was a really, really tough competitor out there," said Anderson, who joined the Racers after a nine-year stint as an assistant under Hugh Durham at the University of Georgia. "He had a couple of other guys on his team that were thought to be marquee players. Everybody was watching those guys, and I saw this guy and I said, 'Hey, this guy has size and he competes and he shoots the ball pretty good from outside.' So I thought that I'd make a pitch for him."

And when Anderson learned that Whelchel was related to former Gainesville High star Patrick Hamilton — whom Anderson coached at Georgia — he was sold.

Whelchel hasn't let Anderson down, either. As a sophomore, he started the first 12 games of the season and was No. 3 for the Racers in minutes played.

He was at his best in the clutch.

He sank two free throws that put the Racers up for good in the final minutes of their 60-58 win at Southeast Missouri State. He hit a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left to force overtime in a 84-79 loss at Austin Peay. And he beat the buzzer with a 35-foot jumper to give Murray State a thrilling 67-66 win at home against Tennessee State.

"I'm a competitor and I want to win," Whelchel said. "If the game is on the line, even though I'm not the leading scorer, I feel like the ball should be in my hands. I feel like I could be the one that knocks the big shot down."

The Racers went 17-12, 11-5 in the OVC, last season and failed to win the conference title for the first time in seven years. This year, Whelchel has been the steadying force on a Murray State team that, after starting the season 7-3, has lost seven of its last nine.

"Antione has become our real leader," Anderson said. "He's not a senior, but he's taken up the leadership for this team. He hates to lose. He really hates to lose. He'd give anything he can to keep from losing. That's why he plays so hard."

Whelchel, a post player in high school, has been asked to play on the perimeter more in college, especially this season. The switch didn't take him by surprise.

"When I got here, once I knew that I wasn't eligible, that gave me time to work on my shot, my dribbling and a lot of other things that perimeter guys need," said Whelchel, who is second on the team in 3-pointers attempted and made (26-of-95).

Whelchel has put in extra work in the classroom, as well. He's taken summer courses each year and now is 10 credit hours ahead of pace to graduate in four years. If he does that, he gets to come back for a fourth season of basketball.

"If he plays another year up there," Vining said, "he might have a shot — particularly if he plays on the perimeter, as big and strong as he is — he may have a legitimate shot at playing at the next level."

Whelchel's not counting on that just yet, however. He has other plans for his future. He wants to be a coach some day.

"I think I work well with kids," Whelchel said.

That makes sense. It wasn't too long ago that Whelchel was a kid himself.

Dan Washburn is a sports writer for The Times in Gainesville, Ga.
Copyright © 2002 by The Times