o doubt if you are a Dorman fan/alum or just a local high school sports enthusiast, the Arcega-Whiteside family is one you are highly familiar with.
Whether it be the late Coach Valorie – a legend on the basketball court as the all-time leading scorer in Southern Conference Women’s Hoops history as well as the all-time winningest girls basketball coach at Dorman with 2 state championships and 215 wins in 11 years – or former standout wide receiver JJ, who after his time in Roebuck, went on to play division 1 football at Stanford, leading to a 6-year career playing in both the NFL and the Canadian Football League with stops in Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, and Toronto.
Now, the next generation of the Arcega-Whiteside family is having his moment to shine in senior 2-sport star Keenan, who like big brother JJ before him, seemed destined for athletic greatness from the beginning.
Their mother, as mentioned earlier, was a basketball star. Val Whiteside, a native of Inman, played collegiately at Appalachian State University from 1984-1988, where she set 42 school records – including single game points scored (48) and rebounds (26). She also set a single-season scoring record for the conference with 776, part of a career where she logged 2,944 points, earning her 4 all-SoCon honors, player of the year, and 2 conference tournament MVPs. Following her success at App, Valorie went on to play professional basketball in Spain, where she met Joaquin Arcega – who was also a Spanish pro hooper.
“Since both of my parents were professional basketball players, I have always played. I have basically been playing both hoops and football since I could walk. Naturally, basketball has always been my favorite sport, but football is more fun to play”, said Keenan.
If the natural talent that comes with being the son of 2 former pros wasn’t enough to say Arcega-Whiteside was set to be a star, Keenan had the unique distinction of growing up with a brother that played football at the highest level.
“Growing up watching JJ play motivated me to play even better than he did. It was also a big plus for me that he was able to teach me everything he knows.”
On the field, Keenan carries himself well, but what really stands out about him is his outlook on life and positivity.
This past winter, in the midst of the basketball season, his mother passed away following a battle with breast cancer – a situation in which many would very understandably need some time to themselves to recover. But, rather than get down about it, Keenan played through with the same heart and tenacity that many would say was his mom’s trademark. In fact, on the very night Dorman honored her memory with a pregame presentation, despite the emotion of the night, he fittingly scored a team-high 12 points, most of which came in the 4th quarter, to help the Cavaliers win a top 10 battle with TL Hanna.
“Keenan has one of the best attitudes about life that I have ever seen from a high school student. He has faced personal loss in his life and continues to show up with a smile everyday and go chase his dreams. I’ve watched him grow up from an elementary student walking the halls of Dorman with his mom or his brother JJ to a senior, and he is a tremendous young man. The thing that stands out most to me about him is that despite everything, who he is has never changed. If anyone has a reason to be negative, it’s him, and he has stayed positive all the way”, said Dorman head football coach Jake Morris.
That positive mindset is one of the key things Keenan says his mother instilled in him.
“The most important thing she taught me was to always be ready because you never know when you take your last breath and your name is gonna be called. The only way I want to honor her memory is by doing what I love – playing football – and being the best at it”, said Arcega-Whiteside.
That drive to work at being the best he can be on the gridiron couldn’t be more evident to his coaches.
“Coaching Keenan has been a blast these last four years. You get a kid that shows up eager to learn everyday and works his tail off on the field to get better. The attitude that Keenan brings to practice is special; it is hard not to get excited about coaching a kid like that”, Coach Morris stated with pride.
Arcega-Whiteside is also quick to credit both coach Morris and head basketball coach Thomas Ryan for contributing to his character and how he carries himself on and off the field and hardwood.
“The biggest thing I have learned from Coach Morris and Coach Ryan is how to present myself. There are kids in the crowd who are looking up to me and want to be just like me, and I have to set a good example for them. I also love the winning mentality that they both bring to the team”, said Keenan.
Keenan’s character, work ethic, talent, and achievement have all combined to help him have a chance to follow in his brother’s footsteps as a division I college receiver. Back in June, he announced in an Instagram post that he was committing to Rice University.
“I chose Rice because the head coach (Mike Bloomgren) coached my brother at Stanford. They always treated me like family every time I visited. After college, it’s my plan to go play in the NFL just like my brother JJ”, said Arcega-Whiteside.
But, for now, Keenan just wants to enjoy the time he has left as a senior by spending time bonding with his teammates while continuing to put on for the fans that he says make being a part of Dorman athletics great.
“I enjoy hanging out with my family and going out with my friends from the football team. My teammates and I like to go to random events and do fun things together. For instance, just the other week we took a trip up to Carowinds and in a couple of weeks, we are going to either watch a Carolina game or a WWE match in Columbia. I also enjoy playing in the atmosphere the fans at Dorman create. It doesn’t matter if we are winning or losing – Cavalier Stadium and Dorman Arena will always be packed out. It is one of my favorite things about suiting up for the Cavaliers every gameday.”, said Keenan.
No good feature would be complete without a bit of advice for the next generation. For Keenan, it is all about continuing to move forward in the face of adversity and failure.
“The advice I would give to a young athlete is to focus on the next play no matter what happens. Everybody makes mistakes, but you have to put it behind you and focus on what you can do better next time”, said Arcega-Whiteside.
“I love the level of competition the rivalry games bring – especially against Spartanburg. At the end of the day, we’re all laughing and joking with each other, no matter who wins or loses”, Arcega-Whiteside said.
Related
