Blowing up
Greenfield’s White now ranked top junior in NC and No. 21 nationally
By Paul Durham Sports Editor WILSON DAILY TIMES
His 6-foot-4 frame folded into a chair in the office of Greenfield School boys basketball head coach Rob Salter, Knights rising junior Coby White seemed almost sheepish Wednesday morning when asked about his sudden emergence as a major college recruit.
White, in contemporary recruiting parlance, has “blown up” this summer. Even though his performance for the Knights this past season — when he averaged 28.2 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game en route to being named The Wilson Times Player of the Year — served notice that White was a legitimate Division I recruit, he still had yet to achieve significant national recognition, mostly because he was just a sophomore.
But when ESPN released its updated national recruiting rankings June 15, the secret was out on White. He is currently ranked No. 21 overall in the class of 2018 and is the No. 4-ranked point guard nationally. White is the top-rated junior in North Carolina.
“It’s a blessing. I was really excited but I’ve just got to keep working,” said White, who barely looks like he’s 16. “It was a good feeling that all my hard work and patience is paying off.”
Salter said that as many as 30 Div. I programs, including Atlantic Coast Conference teams Wake Forest and Clemson during the season, have contacted White. With his profile significantly raised, the big boys — Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky — are now among his suitors. Wake Forest and Clemson tendered scholarship offers on the same day in April and East Carolina and Saint Louis have officially offered but the line for White’s signature is beginning to form.
White recently took an unofficial visit to UNC where he met with head coach Roy Williams. The sudden glut of attention has been a little overwhelming.
“Yeah, I’m still shocked,” he said. “I’m still not over the UNC visit because that’s something that I dreamed of but I never thought that would be happening to me.”
However, White wouldn’t reveal if UNC or any team is in the lead for his services in two years, just shaking his head and grinning when asked.
UNBELIEVABLE SOPHOMORE YEAR
White set the stage for his breakout summer last winter. He scored 40 points in a game on six occasions and his 46-point outburst in a loss Dec. 18, 2015, was a Greenfield record, erasing the mark of former Barton College star and current Harlem Globetrotter Anthony Atkinson.
“He’s athletic, he gets to the rim, finishes at the rim, he’s got a mid-range (shot), which I think is a lost art today, and he can really shoot the basketball,” Salter said, listing White’s qualities. “You might slow one part of that down but he can hurt you with others. That’s the thing — he’s a complete offensive player. He can do whatever he wants offensively.”
Despite not starting as a freshman, White has already hit the 1,000-point plateau in his Greenfield career.
“Coby will be the best to come through here,” said Salter, high praise considering the Div. I recruits Greenfield has churned out in his tenure. “He’ll hold every record here. The growth he’s had in the time he’s been here has been phenomenal.”
White has had a busy summer already and it’s just getting started with major tournaments Nike EYBL Peach Jam and the Las Vegas Classic looming in July when practically every major college coach will be on hand. White participated in the Nike Top 100 camp in St. Louis earlier in June and then the CP3 Elite Guard camp, run by Los Angeles Clippers point guard and North Carolina native Chris Paul, last week in Winston-Salem.
“It was a lot of competition and stuff out there but it was good,” White said of the Nike Top 100 camp. “The CP3 camp was more hands-on. (Paul) was actually teaching us what to do and I learned a lot from how he plays.”
White also plays for Paul’s Team CP3 U16 travel team.
“He’s real cool and a laid back guy,” White said of Paul. “He’s not one of these famous superstar guys who try to act like that.”
However, White revealed it’s not Paul, but Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving who is his favorite NBA player. White said that while his style of play can resemble that of Irving, that’s not why he looks up to him.
“Some of the parts I do, like the crazy layups and stuff but other than that, I just like the way he plays,” White said.
STILL ROOM TO GROW
White, who lives in Goldsboro with his parents, is working on his own legacy at Greenfield, where he started as a skinny, 6-foot ninth grader.
“I knew he was going to be really good but I had no idea that he’d jump up this fast,” Salter said. “I thought he would get there eventually. i really did. I thought I had one of the best sophomores in the country and I’ve told you that many times, but I didn’t know he’d do it this fast. And he’s got a lot of room to grow as far as his game so he will keep getting better and better.”
White’s growth spurt after his freshman season helped, but Salter insists that his work ethic is the main reason for his emergence.
“He works so hard at it and he’s such a coachable kid that’s why it’s exciting to see great things happening to him because he deserves it,” the Knights coach said. “He can do it all. He’s a great leader. I had taken a group to a tennis match one day and we had workouts after school and when I came in, Coby had already started the workouts himself. He looked at me and said, ‘I got it, Coach.’ So I sat back and I watched him put three guys through a workout and that’s the tangible leadership that great players have. That’s the type of kid he is.”
White, who is an honor-roll student, said that basketball pretty much takes up all his time outside of school.
“No, I don’t even play video games,” he said. “Basically, I wake up in the morning and get something to eat and then I just go to the gym. I get home like at 8, take a shower and just chill and look at TV. My brother’s home now so I just mess around with him.”
Will White, a former player at Eastern Wayne High and now an assistant coach at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, said his little brother’s sudden emergence caught him unaware.
“At first I was surprised but you know it’s a blessing for him. I’m happy for him,” Will White said while watching Coby and Greenfield teammates Trey Pittman and Alex Melendez go through drills in the Greenfield gym. “At a point in time, no sir, I didn’t (foresee Coby’s rise). I just want him to be blessed to play college basketball.”
While he’s still got a lot of work to do, including making his 180-pound frame stronger, Coby White could find himself sitting in the green room for the NBA draft in just three years. It’s a prospect that he really hasn’t even considered.
“It’s a lot to take in. It’s an honor though, it’s a blessing,” he said. “If I keep working hard, hopefully one day it’ll come true.”
For now, the NBA dreams and recruiting rankings can wait. White’s focus is on making himself and his teams better and graduating from Greenfield.
“It’s cool to have rankings and all that but I’m mainly focused on going to the next level and getting a scholarship and go to school for free,” he said. “That’s the main thing I’m focused on. It’s cool though.”
After he politely answered all the questions about his future, White bounded out the door of Salter’s office to focus on his present, looking for all the world like a kid without a care as he started doing what he does: PlayB--
Greenfield’s White now ranked top junior in NC and No. 21 nationally
By Paul Durham Sports Editor WILSON DAILY TIMES
His 6-foot-4 frame folded into a chair in the office of Greenfield School boys basketball head coach Rob Salter, Knights rising junior Coby White seemed almost sheepish Wednesday morning when asked about his sudden emergence as a major college recruit.
White, in contemporary recruiting parlance, has “blown up” this summer. Even though his performance for the Knights this past season — when he averaged 28.2 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game en route to being named The Wilson Times Player of the Year — served notice that White was a legitimate Division I recruit, he still had yet to achieve significant national recognition, mostly because he was just a sophomore.
But when ESPN released its updated national recruiting rankings June 15, the secret was out on White. He is currently ranked No. 21 overall in the class of 2018 and is the No. 4-ranked point guard nationally. White is the top-rated junior in North Carolina.
“It’s a blessing. I was really excited but I’ve just got to keep working,” said White, who barely looks like he’s 16. “It was a good feeling that all my hard work and patience is paying off.”
Salter said that as many as 30 Div. I programs, including Atlantic Coast Conference teams Wake Forest and Clemson during the season, have contacted White. With his profile significantly raised, the big boys — Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky — are now among his suitors. Wake Forest and Clemson tendered scholarship offers on the same day in April and East Carolina and Saint Louis have officially offered but the line for White’s signature is beginning to form.
White recently took an unofficial visit to UNC where he met with head coach Roy Williams. The sudden glut of attention has been a little overwhelming.
“Yeah, I’m still shocked,” he said. “I’m still not over the UNC visit because that’s something that I dreamed of but I never thought that would be happening to me.”
However, White wouldn’t reveal if UNC or any team is in the lead for his services in two years, just shaking his head and grinning when asked.
UNBELIEVABLE SOPHOMORE YEAR
White set the stage for his breakout summer last winter. He scored 40 points in a game on six occasions and his 46-point outburst in a loss Dec. 18, 2015, was a Greenfield record, erasing the mark of former Barton College star and current Harlem Globetrotter Anthony Atkinson.
“He’s athletic, he gets to the rim, finishes at the rim, he’s got a mid-range (shot), which I think is a lost art today, and he can really shoot the basketball,” Salter said, listing White’s qualities. “You might slow one part of that down but he can hurt you with others. That’s the thing — he’s a complete offensive player. He can do whatever he wants offensively.”
Despite not starting as a freshman, White has already hit the 1,000-point plateau in his Greenfield career.
“Coby will be the best to come through here,” said Salter, high praise considering the Div. I recruits Greenfield has churned out in his tenure. “He’ll hold every record here. The growth he’s had in the time he’s been here has been phenomenal.”
White has had a busy summer already and it’s just getting started with major tournaments Nike EYBL Peach Jam and the Las Vegas Classic looming in July when practically every major college coach will be on hand. White participated in the Nike Top 100 camp in St. Louis earlier in June and then the CP3 Elite Guard camp, run by Los Angeles Clippers point guard and North Carolina native Chris Paul, last week in Winston-Salem.
“It was a lot of competition and stuff out there but it was good,” White said of the Nike Top 100 camp. “The CP3 camp was more hands-on. (Paul) was actually teaching us what to do and I learned a lot from how he plays.”
White also plays for Paul’s Team CP3 U16 travel team.
“He’s real cool and a laid back guy,” White said of Paul. “He’s not one of these famous superstar guys who try to act like that.”
However, White revealed it’s not Paul, but Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving who is his favorite NBA player. White said that while his style of play can resemble that of Irving, that’s not why he looks up to him.
“Some of the parts I do, like the crazy layups and stuff but other than that, I just like the way he plays,” White said.
STILL ROOM TO GROW
White, who lives in Goldsboro with his parents, is working on his own legacy at Greenfield, where he started as a skinny, 6-foot ninth grader.
“I knew he was going to be really good but I had no idea that he’d jump up this fast,” Salter said. “I thought he would get there eventually. i really did. I thought I had one of the best sophomores in the country and I’ve told you that many times, but I didn’t know he’d do it this fast. And he’s got a lot of room to grow as far as his game so he will keep getting better and better.”
White’s growth spurt after his freshman season helped, but Salter insists that his work ethic is the main reason for his emergence.
“He works so hard at it and he’s such a coachable kid that’s why it’s exciting to see great things happening to him because he deserves it,” the Knights coach said. “He can do it all. He’s a great leader. I had taken a group to a tennis match one day and we had workouts after school and when I came in, Coby had already started the workouts himself. He looked at me and said, ‘I got it, Coach.’ So I sat back and I watched him put three guys through a workout and that’s the tangible leadership that great players have. That’s the type of kid he is.”
White, who is an honor-roll student, said that basketball pretty much takes up all his time outside of school.
“No, I don’t even play video games,” he said. “Basically, I wake up in the morning and get something to eat and then I just go to the gym. I get home like at 8, take a shower and just chill and look at TV. My brother’s home now so I just mess around with him.”
Will White, a former player at Eastern Wayne High and now an assistant coach at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, said his little brother’s sudden emergence caught him unaware.
“At first I was surprised but you know it’s a blessing for him. I’m happy for him,” Will White said while watching Coby and Greenfield teammates Trey Pittman and Alex Melendez go through drills in the Greenfield gym. “At a point in time, no sir, I didn’t (foresee Coby’s rise). I just want him to be blessed to play college basketball.”
While he’s still got a lot of work to do, including making his 180-pound frame stronger, Coby White could find himself sitting in the green room for the NBA draft in just three years. It’s a prospect that he really hasn’t even considered.
“It’s a lot to take in. It’s an honor though, it’s a blessing,” he said. “If I keep working hard, hopefully one day it’ll come true.”
For now, the NBA dreams and recruiting rankings can wait. White’s focus is on making himself and his teams better and graduating from Greenfield.
“It’s cool to have rankings and all that but I’m mainly focused on going to the next level and getting a scholarship and go to school for free,” he said. “That’s the main thing I’m focused on. It’s cool though.”
After he politely answered all the questions about his future, White bounded out the door of Salter’s office to focus on his present, looking for all the world like a kid without a care as he started doing what he does: PlayB--
