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Dumped by the Devils UNC, others sure to jump at White's availability
Posted: Monday July 10, 2000 03:28 PM
By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com TEANECK, N.J. -- A funny thing happened to James White in the course of his recruitment: The staff at Duke sent him a letter telling him his services were no longer needed. It's not often that a top-level player -- CNNSI.com analyst Brick Oettinger ranks White No. 6 in the senior class -- is dropped off a school's list; usually it's vice versa. But the Blue Devils will have high-scoring Rutgers transfer Dahntay Jones eligible for the fall of 2001, and Jones plays the same position as White. Coincidentally, Jones was one of the counselors at last weekend's adidas ABCD Camp, but the two did not speak. "I don't even know who he is," White says. No matter. White is not upset, because he will inevitably end up at another major-caliber program. North Carolina has long been thought to be at the top of White's list, but he says Maryland, Florida, Seton Hall and Georgia Tech are also in the running. His deciding factor? "If I fit in," he says. "The feeling I get in my stomach, if I want to go there or not. "You also have to look at the coach. But I don't feel it's as important, because I know wherever I go a great college coach must be there. The big thing is the feel." The Tar Heels, of course, still have an unsettled coaching situation. Bill Guthridge retired, and the next two candidates, Roy Williams and Eddie Fogler, turned down the job. "It's not a big deal," White says. "I feel whatever coach goes there, it's still going to be a great program, have the tradition -- the same things that attracted me to them before." White already knows his game will fit in at UNC. The 6-foot-7, 185-pound small forward is the best leaper in his class, and what could be more appropriate than to fly through the air where Michael Jordan and Vince Carter did before? White causes crowds to rise to their feet when he gets the ball in the open court, in anticipation of one of his patented glides to the basket. "Smooth," White says when asked to describe his style. "Fast paced but under control at the same time." The knock on the Maryland native, who will play his senior season at Crispus Attacks High in York, Pa., has always been that he was all style and no substance. But he seems to have taken the criticism to heart. He demonstrated a nice, Jordan-esque turnaround jumper from the baseline at the ABCD Camp and appears to have more confidence in his release. "I shoot 500 shots a day, every day," he says. "I work on my strengths, but I work harder on my weaknesses, and that's one of the weaknesses people said I had, so I worked on it. The last two, three tournaments I've been to, I wanted to go out and prove them wrong, and so far I think I've done that." There is more ahead, however. "I still have to improve my jumper. It's not inconsistent, but I want to get to the level where I don't miss," he says rather ambitiously. "I also need to work on my ball-handling a little and on defense." No matter how much he advances in those areas, White will always be known first and foremost for his skywalking. Basketball players remember their first dunk like the average person remembers his first kiss. "It was the summer before ninth grade, in an AAU game," White says. "It felt real good. Everybody wants to get that first dunk, to play for the crowd. It was good to hear the crowd go, "Oooooh!" because they've never seen a guy dunk at that age." Though White's physical gifts have almost become a stigma, he does not disassociate himself from his calling. "It doesn't bother me. If people watch me play, eventually they'll see that I can do everything," he says. "That's one part of my game. It's what got me here, being a great athlete. But the more people see me and watch me play, they'll recognize and see that I can do more things." And no doubt White will be welcome many more places than not.
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