Five years ago, no one expected an undersized Derrick White to make any mark in college basketball. Now, after spending three years in Division II and a year at the University of Colorado, he’ll be on his way to the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs.
With the 29th pick overall, he not only made a name in a draft that many never dreamed he’d be a part of just a couple years ago, but he secured a guaranteed contract with a great team, under a legendary coach Gregg Popovich.
With the pick, White became the ninth player in Colorado basketball history to go in the first round of the draft, and the 34th ever to be drafted from the Buffaloes program.
And it couldn’t have happened to a better player.
https://youtu.be/_SqYFshFgsg
Throughout his collegiate career, the Parker native was the quintessential team player. Although he was the best player on the team most of the time, you never would have guessed it by the way he acted off the court.
To White, everything was for and about the team.
It didn’t matter how many points he scored, or how much playing time he saw (which was generally a significant amount). All that mattered to him was the ‘W.’
His longtime coach and trainer, Marcus Mason, also caught the candid moment that White got drafted from his Parker, Colo. home on a video, below.
He’s always been extremely coachable and very versatile as a pure point guard. In just three years at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, White demolished the school’s scoring record when he recorded 1,912 points, adding 343 assists and 513 rebounds to his resume.
At Colorado, he continued to put up big numbers in just one year, scoring 615 points, 148 assists, 42 steals and 49 blocks – a school-best for any guard.
Now, this once-overlooked guard from Legend High School is ready to become a legend himself with the San Antonio Spurs.
Featured Video & Image Credit: Ariana Freeman
