Combine shooting drill results

He’s not the athlete white is, but his skill level is quite higher

Gerald Green was an excellent athlete and player, but wasn’t able to stick

White has a lot of things going for him, including his terrific physical tools and stellar mid-range game, but questions still linger regarding his lack of a defined position, poor production this season and nonchalant nature.

Whether he’s playing point guard or as a wing playing off the ball, as long as White is on the court he is thinking shot. He has great natural scoring instincts and as mentioned in our previous write up, his mid range game is one of his strongest assets – showing the ability to stop on a dime off the bounce or curling off a screen. The difference however from our last evaluation is that his field goal percentage has dipped to 43.3% (White was shooting close to 45% in the 1st half of the season) – leveling out to about the same percentage as a year ago. Part of the season for this drop is his shot selection – as he’s continued to take contested shots all season long and settle for tough floaters in the lane, part of the season his team struggled as badly as they did to close off the year.

Another skill that he is yet to fully incorporate into his game is that of getting to the foul line. He currently shoots 4.2 free throws per 40 pace adjusted, and with someone with his superb athletic ability and strong frame, he should be getting there more often.

After watching the 67 shots at the basket in the 23 games that we have at our disposal, it’s obvious that White has the ability to get in the paint, but he noticeably shies away from contact most of the time.

Another contributing factor to his lack of free throw attempts is White’s below average ball handling skills. He rarely alters his pace, isn’t fully capable of changing direction, and he’s not strong enough with the ball to handle it consistently against pressure right now. At times he appears tentative to go out and make plays, which has caused him to disappear in quite a few important games this season, one of the reasons his exceptionally talented team missed the NCAA tournament. On the positive side though is White’s improved free throw percentage, going from 62.8% last season to 70.1% this year.

His point guard skills as a whole however are less than impressive. He’s still only averaging 1.5 assists a game which ranks him as one of the worst passers in our database amongst starting guards. He simply was not looking to create shots for others this year, appearing far more concerned with going out and getting his own offense. He is only averaging 1.3 turnovers a game, which is impeccable for any guard, but a lot of that has to do with him shooting on most possessions and not even trying to attempt to create for others.

White’s fundamentals, feel for the game and understanding of how to maximize his physical tools in a half-court offense all need quite a bit of work.

On the defensive end, White has all the physical tools to be a very good defender, but has been inconsistent at this end. He goes through spurts of playing hard or using the defensive possession to relax. Closing out on shooters is an area he’s struggled with, but he’s certainly improved in containing the ball handler and stopping dribble penetration.