Playing for a perennial contender in the NBA is obviously a full-time gig, but former Colorado Buffaloes star Derrick White – now of the Boston Celtics – apparently still has enough time and energy to add a second one.
After putting up what was arguably his finest season yet as an NBA player – and remember, he already has an NBA title and an Olympic gold medal in his trophy case – White returned to his alma mater and accepted the newly created position of “President of Basketball Strategy” on head coach Tad Boyle’s coaching staff.
Last season, White posted a career-best 16.5 points per game while also earning All-NBA Defensive first-team honors for the Celtics.
White is now also listed as an assistant coach on CU’s website. The Colorado native is the first to hold this post, and it’s tough to imagine that there’s ever been another still-active NBA player to simultaneously hold a college coaching position.
Time will tell if this coaching gig actually involves any real coaching – that would be pretty hard to do in-season, of course – or if it’s going to be simply a figurehead position for now. On the school’s website, it reads that White will be “helping to lead, mentor, and inspire future Buffaloes… offering advice and counsel with respect to NIL, revenue sharing, roster construction, athlete development, and team culture.” The actual job duties sound like they can be done over the phone.
White will be a “program ambassador” and will “assist with donor relations, help cultivate new revenue opportunities, and serve as an advisor to the Director of Athletics.”
Sounds like he’ll need to bring his golf clubs to work.
Perhaps the job lands somewhere between figurehead and actual, hands-on basketball coach?
As far as salary is concerned, there is none. White will actually be donating $2 million to CU, serving as the lead donor for a program that badly needs more funding, given the school’s dire financial situation and current obligations to their celebrity head football coach. He can honestly and passionately ask prospective Buff donors to follow his example and get behind Boyle and the men’s basketball program during the time they need it the most.
It also sounds like a potential landing spot for the nine-year NBA vet when he decides to retire as a player. That alone makes this a very savvy move on both White’s part and the school.
Could this idea become more commonplace within college athletics? The need to raise profiles and millions of dollars is growing. Who better to help with that than superstars of the past who might be able to convince others to donate like they have? If you’re running the athletic department at the University of Tennessee, why isn’t Peyton Manning your “President of Football Strategy” yet?
This move by CU and new athletic director Fernando Lovo also opens up the door for a similar, albeit only remotely possible move with the football program. Perhaps the CU athletic department could – depending on health issues and on-the-field struggles – create a similar role for that certain celebrity football coach when he’s done coaching? He’d probably consider it – as long as they didn’t ask him for a donation.
