High School

Walnut Grove (Georgia) names Dennis Whitley Jr. as permanent head boys basketball coach

Whitley served as an assistant coach for Walnut Grove for the last 5 seasons. He served as the interim head coach this season.

Ross Van De Griek

Basketball generic
Basketball generic / SBLive Sports

On Wednesday morning, the Walnut Grove Warriors officially removed the interim tag on Dennis Whitley Jr, making him the school's permanent head boys basketball coach, the school announced in a social media post.

Whitley served as an interim head coach for the Warriors this season while Will Witherspoon left the program for a similar position at Berkmar High School.

It was a struggle to say the least for the Warriors this season where they finished the 2024-2025 season with a 3-23 record, ending the season on a five-game losing streak.

Witherspoon led the Warriors to four state playoff appearances in his five seasons, including a region title in 2022. Witherspoon went 83-56 (.597 winning percentage) in his five seasons leading the Wildcat program. He was also the interim coach for their girls' basketball program going 36-15 in a two-season span.

Looking ahead to the 2025-2026 season, the Warriors return all eight players where they had zero seniors from this season's program and were led by 6'2 sophomore guard Will Tyre.

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before. For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

Published |Modified
Ross Van De Griek
ROSS VAN DE GRIEK

Ross Van De Griek has been a high school sports writer covering the state of Florida since 2021. Ross also has been scouting high school basketball and Grassroots Basketball across the Southeast Region since 2022. Ross has been covering basketball and recruiting for High School on SI since August 2024. He has collaborated with Next Up Sports, Prep Hoops, and On The Radar Hoops throughout his scouting career. You can follow him on X @rossvdg14 or reach him via email rossvdg14@gmail.com for story ideas.

Home/Georgia