By: Rece Allen, Sports Editor

Athletic director Harold Ellis and Morehouse College President Dr. David Thomas announced that head coach Douglas Whittler and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Terrell Polk will depart from their roles with Morehouse effective immediately. They announced this message to the student body via email on April 10 at 1:07 pm.

Whittler started his head coaching career at Morehouse after he was named interim coach following the death of coach Grady Brewer in 2021. The next season, Whittler led the Maroon Tigers to a 21-7 record and 15-2 in the SIAC, claiming their 13th conference regular season title. He also became the only coach in Morehouse history with 21 wins in his first season, tying the school record for the most consecutive wins in a season with 18. 

Polk joined the Maroon Tigers coaching staff in 2023. Previously, he was an assistant coach at Wayne Community College in Detroit, Michigan, for two years.  

Whittler was a former All-Conference basketball player for the Maroon Tigers. Afterward, he coached under Brewer for 12 years. Whittler helped with recruiting, planning practices, skill development, community outreach, strength and conditioning, and monitoring student athletes’ success. 

As an assistant coach, he helped develop eight All-Conference players, three newcomer of the year performers, two SIAC players of the year, and three All-Americans. 

After his stellar first year, the Maroon Tigers named him full-time head coach in March of 2022. He led Morehouse to two consecutive SIAC East Division regular season championships. The team placed second in the division this season..  

Morehouse’s notable wins this season:

• Defeated Division I Howard University in the Martin Luther King Day Classic, 79-76.
• Only team in the SIAC to beat Miles College, which had a 19-1 record in the conference. 
• Swept rival Clark-Atlanta 75-71 and, in double overtime, 85-79.

Along with big wins this season, Whittler was a part of special opportunities during his head coaching tenure. He was selected to be one of the coaches for the 2025 Men’s HBCU All-Star game in San Antonio, Texas. He also coached his team in the HBCU NBA Classic during All-Star Weekend against Tuskegee University.  

During Whittler’s reign, he guided multiple players to success, leading them to earn conference awards:

• Noah Morgan – in 2021-2022 season: First Team All-Conference and HBCU All-Star
• Kerry Richardson – 2022-2023: Second Team All-Conference and SIAC All Tournament Team
• Cedric Taylor III – 2023-2024 & 2024-2025: SIAC Freshman of the Year, SIAC First Team All-Conference, and SIAC Elite 16 Award Winner
• Brandon Peters – 2024-2025: All-Freshman Team

Whittler prided himself on emphasizing defense with his team. During the 2023–2024 season, the NCAA Division II ranked Morehouse as the top defensive team for field goal percentage allowed.

“My main thing has always been defense,” Whittler said in an interview with the Maroon Tiger before the start of this season. “Like my old coach [Brewer] used to say, ‘If they can’t score, we can’t lose.’ The most valuable person on the court is the guy who can get stops.”

Ellis and Morehouse thanked Whittler and Polk for their significant contributions to the program and their student-athletes’ lives. They will now start a national search to find Morehouse’s next head basketball coach. 

Copy Edited by Ron Thomas, Journalism Department Chair