Long Wait For Buffs' White Almost Over
September 30, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
CU senior transfer ready to play after redshirt season
BOULDER — Colorado senior Derrick White finally has a basketball game on the horizon, one close enough that he can count the time to tipoff in weeks and days instead of months.
It's been a while.
White, a transfer from CU-Colorado Springs, took the floor with his teammates Friday morning for the Buffs' first official practice of the season. But unlike last year, when White practiced every day knowing he would not play for the entire season, he hit the court Friday knowing he'll be in uniform Nov. 11 when the Buffs open against Sacramento State.
"It's exciting," White said. "We've got a lot of potential on this team, so it's good to get in here, learn from our mistakes and continue to get better. We're all excited but we all know we've got a long way to go to be ready for our first game."
White is one very big reason the Buffs will enter the season with high expectations, a player head coach Tad Boyle has been waiting — not always patiently — to see on the floor in a game.
"Let's put it this way — he's a special player," Boyle said last spring. "He is going to be able to affect the game in a lot of different ways. He can score, he can shoot, he can distribute the ball, he can rebound the ball, he can block shots for a guy that's 6'5", he is a terrific defender. Derrick White is going to have a great year, there is no question in my mind."
For White, the road to Boulder has been a long, winding trip that took him from Legend High School in Parker to UCCS, where he found stardom at the Division II level, and finally to Boulder. It's a journey that began with zero fanfare — he received virtually no attention from Division I schools and only casual attention from most Division II schools — but one that could end with him playing a significant role on a team that has the potential to be one of the best in recent CU history.
"He was a good high school player," Boyle said after Friday morning's practice. "He was at our team camp. But he was 6-1, 165 pounds. How many 6-1, 165-pounders are running around playing Colorado high school basketball?"
Indeed, the overall lack of interest in White wasn't due to his ability as much as it was to his size.
"I probably wouldn't have recruited me either in high school," White says with a laugh.
But thing is, almost nobody could have guessed that after graduating from high school he would add four more inches and 30 pounds to his frame.
"Even the league he went to, the RMAC, most of those coaches didn't know who he was," Boyle said. "He was not only missed at the Division I level, he was missed at the Division II level. It's an interesting story, it's a great story — and that's what's great about recruiting. It's not an exact science."
But Boyle isn't as concerned about how the story started as he is with how it might end. White brings a dimension to the Buffs that fits in perfectly in their scheme — an excellent offensive player (he averaged nearly 26 points per game in his final season at UCCS) who can also rebound (7.4 rpg) and get the ball to his teammates (5.2 assists per game), while also playing solid defense.
For White, it's been worth the wait. He's added muscle to his frame — something he knew he needed to do in order to compete at the Division I level — and he spent the year working on every facet of his game.
"It went a lot quicker than I thought," White said. "Going into the year I thought it would be a lot longer. It was a good year for me. I knew I needed to get bigger and get a little better in a couple of aspects, so it was good for me to learn. I think I'm ready now."
OPENING MESSAGE: Even with a team that Boyle says may be his deepest yet at Colorado, a team that boasts scoring potential at every position, the CU head coach made it clear Friday morning that the program's tenets haven't changed as he enters his seventh season at the helm.
"The first thing you talk about is defense," Boyle said. "Kind of getting them back in that mode of wanting to guard, having pride in guarding."
Clearly, even on a team with scoring potential at virtually every position, defense and rebounding are still the foundation of CU hoops.
"Most of the times in the offseason guys are are working on their game," Boyle said. "They're working on their ball-handling, they're working on their shooting, they're working on their bodies in the weightroom. (But) we've got a long ways to go defensively."
There's no doubt players and coaches believe this could be a special team. With quality experience returning everywhere, the Buffs will likely be considered at least a top-four team in the Pac-12. One preseason magazine, Lindy's, even has CU ranked No. 19 in the nation in its preseason ratings.
"We've got a very deep team," Boyle allowed. "Even our freshmen did some really nice things out here today. I expect this to be one of our deepest teams ever, no doubt about it — if we stay healthy."
HEALTHY KING: After some minor offseason foot surgery, Buffs wing George King is healthy and ready to go.
King, voted the Pac-12's most improved player last season after redshirting the prior year, averaged 13.6 points per game for Colorado and led the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (.456).
He's showing absolutely no effects from the June surgery that had a bone spur removed from his foot.
"George has been healthy since the middle of the summer," Boyle said. "He looks great, no pain in the foot, shooting it well. He looks like a veteran out there."
It might be unreasonable to expect King to make a jump similar to the improvement he made a year ago — but if he does, he could be one of the Pac-12's best players.
Boyle said his message for King has been simple.
"We know you can shoot it, we know you can make plays — now can you make plays for your teammates?" Boyle said. "Good players make themselves better, great players make their teammates better. We know he's a pretty good threat offensively because he's physically gifted and he can shoot the ball so well. But making plays for other people I think is his biggest challenge — and rebounding."
CONGRATS TO FOOTBALL TEAM: Boyle and his wife, Ann, both made the trek to Michigan recently to watch the CU football team's game with the Wolverines.
Last week, Boyle watched from afar as the Buffs won at Oregon.
"I couldn't be more excited and happy for those guys," Boyle said. "Signature win for our program, and I couldn't be more excited for the coaches and the players and everybody in Buff nation."
The Buffs will practice early Saturday morning in order to be finished before CU's 12:30 game with Oregon State at Folsom Field.
Boyle noted that he and his staff recruit basketball players in the fall and use Folsom Field and football games as part of the pitch. Conversely, the football staff uses the Events Center and the basketball team as part of its pitch.
"When Folsom Field is jammed and rocking and we're tailgating and everybody's excited and there's football in the air, it does nothing but help us," Boyle said. "We go down to the Pearl Street Stampede and watch the football team get pumped for the game. (It is) a great atmosphere to recruit in.
"Hopefully we can reciprocate and our fans can reciprocate by packing the Coors Events Center every single night. You don't know when a football recruit's going to be here, but they come in here and see a full house, they're like, 'Hey, people care.' That's what I want our fans to understand. Our fans are critical in recruiting by showing up and being loud and supportive. When you get that momentum going with football winning, and hopefully we can do our part in the wintertime, it helps everybody."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
