Tim Whipple, legendary Irmo basketball coach, is calling it a career
One of the greatest high school basketball coaches in South Carolina history is calling it a career.
Irmo’s Tim Whipple is retiring after 43 years of coaching, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision told The State on Tuesday. He was informing Irmo’s players of the decision Tuesday morning.
Whipple won 848 games, second most in state history behind former Great Falls coach John Smith’s 943. He also won six state championships at Irmo with the last coming in 2023.
Whipple talked about the prospect of retirement following the Yellow Jackets’ February playoff loss to Wilson.
“I don’t know,” Whipple said about returning for his 44th season. “It is not something that I have given a whole lot of thought at this point and time. We have tried to focus on making this team better and getting the most out of them. That is one of the ways I have measured my career as a coach. I feel like in my whole coaching career, the whole has been better than the parts. It is a goal I always have.”
Whipple has won a state championship in four different decades, and Irmo’s six titles rank in the top 15 in state history for the program. More than 40 of Whipple’s players have gone on to play college basketball.
Whipple began his career as an assistant coach at Lexington after graduating from Erskine College. After Lexington, he was a JV coach at Winnsboro High before landing at Irmo. The Spring Valley grad spent two seasons as Irmo JV coach before being promoted to head coach in the 1981-82 season.
Irmo’s first championship team in 1991 featured Marvin Orange, who went on to win the 1992 S.C. Gatorade Player of the Year and play at Alabama.
— This is a breaking news story. Will be updated
