Derrick White fought against the odds just to reach Division 1 level basketball. Now he’s rising up draft boards and ensuring his chances to be picked in this year’s NBA Draft.
Who is Derrick White?
For all players keen on entering the NBA, the NBA Draft represents the next step in their story and the culmination of all the hard work they’ve had to go through just to get to this point. In the case of Derrick White, it’s a step that would have been unimaginable at one point in time.
An accomplished player in high school, White was an unheralded recruit as he failed to receive a single scholarship offer from a Division I school. A big reason for that was that White was incredibly undersized as a point guard as he stood just six feet tall and weighed 155 pounds during his senior season.
Just before he was set to graduate, White managed to find a place at the D-II University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, with the help of his father. That turn of events would help set everything in motion for White to rise through the ranks.
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By the time he started his freshman year at UCCS, White stood five inches taller and plans to have him redshirted for the year were scrapped following an injury to the team’s starting point guard.
From there, White seized on the opportunity and immediately made an impact posting gaudy numbers as the team’s starting point guard. White’s production and effectiveness would only increase in his sophomore and junior seasons and the team’s overall performance was better because of it as they reached the Division II NCAA Tournament in the 2014-15 season.
Following the end of his junior year, White made the decision to transfer to the University of Colorado in Boulder, knowing that this would be his final chance to prove himself on the Division I level.
It was a challenge White not only lived up to, but exceeded as his transition to the D-I level was as smooth as you could envision, especially in a highly competitive Pac-12 conference. Although the Buffaloes failed to ensure a berth in the NCAA tournament this season, White’s season didn’t go unrecognized as he earned all-Pac-12 first team honors.
With that, it’s time to dig deeper into White’s strengths, weaknesses and much, much more.
Strengths
In keeping with the theme of how he got to where he is today, White boasts an incredibly unique skill set.
For starters, the variety of ways in which White is able to score captures your attention right away. Whether it’s pulling up from behind the three-point line or finishing through contact as he navigates his way in the paint, White is a very adept and efficient scorer from all areas of the floor.
Just in his lone season with the Buffaloes, White averaged 18.1 points per game and posted shooting splits of 50.7/39.6/81.3, which makes for a true shooting percentage of 62.7 percent.
In addition to his scoring potential, White projects to be a capable ball handler when he reaches the next level.
White’s assist numbers don’t blow you away by any means (White averaged 4.35 assists per game and a 1.83 assist-to-turnover ratio this season), but his feel for the game and his ability to zip passes over the defense thanks to his physical measurements make it possible for him to be a secondary, or even primary ball handler at times.
On the defensive end, White is surprisingly a remarkable shot blocker as he averaged 1.4 blocks per game this year. Thanks to his defensive positioning, long reach and impressive leaping ability, there’s no limit to where White can fly out and stuff an opposing player from behind the three-point line or even down low by the basket.
Weaknesses
Since he’ll turn 23 years old before he’ll even play a single minute in the NBA, White’s age will automatically give people pause when determining his draft stock.
Although he’s one of, if not the highest rising player in the pre-draft process, one has to wonder whether White’s age will be the determining factor for whether he becomes a late first round pick or a second round selection.
As far as his abilities on the court go, the bigger concerns for White lie on the defensive end.
Despite his stunning shot blocking ability, White still has a ways to go in being an average defender when he reaches the next level. Some of that is due to the questions over his strength and although he’s a solid athlete, it’s fair to wonder if he has more strides to make in that area.
At this point, how well he’ll hold up on that end of the floor will depend on what role he’ll take on when he eventually gets drafted, but there’s definitely some work to be done on that end.
What The Experts Say
(as of 5/23/17)
Draft Express (Jonathan Givony): 31st
ESPN (Chad Ford): 44th
The Ringer (Kevin O’Connor/Jonathan Tjarks/Danny Chau): 33rd
Sporting News (Sam Vecenie): 27th
The Step Back (Trevor Magnotti and Chris Stone): 34th
Quotes:
The Ringer states that White should continue to rise up draft boards with solid showings in individual workouts and the overall package he possesses playing as a point guard:
"“A big, high-IQ point guard who has tremendous intangibles and could rise up draft boards with good workouts.”"
Along those same lines, JZ Mazlish of Laces Out writes that while the concerns regarding White are very valid, the array of skills he has is too much for him to not warrant consideration as a first round selection at the very minimum:
"“White is old and has legitimate flaws. Yet, he has real strengths that give him the chance to be a very useful player in the NBA. Teams should be looking at him in the middle of the first round and as high as the late lottery.”"
Fit With The Bucks
While he goes against the ideal selection the Bucks have targeted in the first round for many years now, there’s a lot to like about a potential fit for White on this team.
It’s no secret the Bucks are still shallow in the backcourt and even though their point guard play took big steps in the right direction this season, there’s always room for improvement.
White won’t improve everything by leaps and bounds theoretically, but his ability to create his own offense efficiently and at all areas of the court would look awfully nice on this Bucks team. On top of that, there’s clearly something to be said for his drive and character that could catch their eye for how hard he has had to fight to get where he is right now.
The big question at this point is whether White would be worthy of selecting from where the Bucks currently stand in the first round.
He’s done more to improve his draft stock than arguably anyone else in this draft class and more solid showings in individual team workouts will likely ensure he goes as a late first round selection at the very least.
So while he may be thought of as a reach at 17, there’s no guarantee he’ll still be on the board when the Bucks are on the clock in the second round. It’s obviously not a problem exclusive to White if the Bucks are looking to improve that specific area of the roster, considering how fluid that range of the draft is shaping up to be.
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But it’s fair to say the Bucks would either have to go against projections or some movement would have to be involved in order for them to take White at this point.