By Andy Lohman

After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, getting back on the court in competitive games meant the world for SMU junior guard Jimmy Whitt.

"There's not really a feeling like it, just being able to get back in the groove of playing," Whitt said about returning to live college basketball. "It's what I've dreamed of."

The Columbia, Missouri product started his collegiate career at Arkansas, averaging 6.1 points across 32 games but transferred after his freshman season.

"I liked Arkansas. It's a good school and everything, I just didn't think it was the right place for me basketball-wise," Whitt said of his decision to transfer. "[The Arkansas staff] supported whatever I did even if it wasn't with them, they just wanted to see me be successful."

Whitt decided on SMU because he had been recruited by former Mustangs head coach Larry Brown while in high school. Tim Jankovich had been promoted to head coach by the time Whitt entered the program, but he feels like he made the right choice.

"It's been a great decision for me," Whitt said. "Being able to play for him last year, I learned a lot building our relationship and everything. Going into this year, I'm really excited to be able to get back out there again."

Now Whitt will have the opportunity to play for Brown, who is on the staff of USA East Coast, for the first time. Whitt and sophomore Isiaha Mike will be joining USA East Coast from Aug. 3-9 for four games in Italy. USA East Coast is comprised of players from various Division I teams and in a four-day span will play against the national teams from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the Italian team Vicenza Select Italy.

The opportunity to play with players from top college programs like Kansas, Purdue and South Carolina, and against professional-level talent is an exciting challenge.

"Being able to go play against professional talent is going to help me expand the game, especially with different [FIBA] rules," Whitt said. "The better talent you're around, obviously the better you have to pick your game up, the better it'll make you."

In addition to the experience gained against top-level competition, the trip to Italy gives Whitt the chance to test out his re-tooled game.

"I've been working on a lot of breaking down my entire game, mechanic-wise," Whitt said. "I've changed my entire shot and I'm actually really excited about it to go out there and use it in an in-game setting."

Whitt was a part of SMU's team trip to Canada last summer, where he averaged 12 points per game against Canadian competition. While the upcoming European trip will be great for his personal development, the northern expedition was valuable because of its team-building power.

"The Canada trip was more of a team experience. It was huge on bonding as a team," Whitt said. "I feel like if you have a connection with your teammates off the court, that translates on the court and that's why I feel like a lot of good teams make it as far as they do, especially in the NCAA tournament. I've never met a team that made it far and didn't have a great relationship off the court."

Even though he sat out a year, Whitt made an immediate impact for the Mustangs. He's one of only two returners that played in all 33 games of the 2017-18 season, and the only one who started every contest. In addition to being a double-digit scorer (10.5 ppg), the versatile guard ranked third in the American Athletic Conference in steals (1.8 spg), eighth in assists (3.5 apg), and 17th in rebounds (5.2 rpg).

His athleticism allows him to be both a disruptive defender, and to play above the rim on offense, a unique skill for a point guard. Not only is he gifted athletically, he's becoming a more mature player as well.

"I feel like I've grown mentally," Whitt said. "I probably came to college thinking I was a hard worker, got here and realized that you have to work three or four times as hard if you want to do the things you want to do."

With a year of playing at Moody Coliseum under his belt, Whitt is ready to bring SMU back to level it was at during the 2016-17 AAC title season. He has aspirations to play professional basketball, but knows that team success comes first.

"Winning helps everybody," Whitt said. "And I feel like the more we win, the more everybody will be able to reach their individual goals, whatever they may be."