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Whittington Looking Forward to Trip to Fort Wayne

The D in D League stands for “development” rather than “demotion.” That's why Shayne Whittington is looking forward to heading up to Fort Wayne to play a couple of games for the Mad Ants.

Whittington, the Pacers' rookie forward, will play with the Mad Ants on Thursday and Saturday, the same nights the Pacers will have games in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Although he has shown promise with his shooting and court awareness, he's only been able to play in 13 games, for a total of 59 minutes. He's averaging two points on 47 percent shooting, with six assists, five steals and two turnovers. 

He's looking forward to getting a heavier workload.

“I'm excited,” he said in the locker room following the Pacers' game on Tuesday.

Whittington, who played at Western Michigan, broke his leg in pre-draft workouts last May, which caused him to go undrafted. The Pacers signed him as a free agent over the summer and have gradually worked him back into shape. He's now far enough along that they don't have to worry about a minutes restriction, so they've decided it's better for him to play in Fort Wayne than sit on the bench in Indianapolis.

“I'm not seeing it as a demotion,” he said. “The D league isn't meant for that, it's meant for developing players.”

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