Tony White, Jr.: A Perfect Fit
4/2/2010 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tony White, Jr., a senior guard for the College of Charleston Men's Basketball team, was honored this week as the 2010 ExCEL Male Student-Athlete of the Year. It is one of many accomplishments the senior from Knoxville, Tenn., has earned during his four years with the Cougars.
ExCEL, standing for Excellence in Collegiate Education and Leadership, honored more than 30 students, staff, faculty and community members of the College of Charleston on Tuesday, March 30 at the Sottile Theatre. The award recognizes their commitment to creating a campus environment that promotes diversity and excellence. The award is a culmination for White, who spent four years becoming an excellent student-athlete and role model - a College of Charleston perfect fit.
Looking at White, a 6-0, 150 pound Communication major you might not notice the influence he has had on CofC basketball and the campus as a whole and wonder how he was chosen for this award. After speaking with him and seeing how he carries himself as a student-athlete and as a role model, and then looking at his resume, this honor has been a long time in the making.
Not many college coaches looked at him coming out of high school. That is, except College of Charleston men's basketball coach Bobby Cremins, who, in July of 2006, needed a recruit after taking over the reins of the Cougars after most programs had long since signed their fall class.
"I went recruiting right away, right after my press conference it seemed like," said Cremins.
He saw White at the Peach Jam in Augusta, Ga., and called him soon after.
"Normally, if I don't know the number I don't answer. But something told me to pick up," said White. "I heard 'Hello, this is Bobby Cremins.' I remember thinking that I knew that name from somewhere. It didn't hit me until he got off the phone who he was."
"Once I saw the campus, he told me everything I wanted to hear. Coach is a very honest man. He's going to tell you the truth no matter what. He tells it like it is. That was one thing I liked about him."
White signed late that summer, becoming Cremins' first Cougar signee. Cremins initially wanted to redshirt White, but his opinion changed as he watched him during pre-season practice.
"My staff and I felt he could help our team, come off the bench," Cremins said. "He backed up Dontaye Draper. After Dontaye left, he's started ever since."
Once the decision was made by Cremins not to redshirt him, White never looked back. In four years White averaged in double-figures, played in 136 games, and scored 1,499 points. He leaves CofC ranked in the top five in Division I history in scoring and ninth all-time. With 347, White is fourth in assists and his 253 three-point field goals made is second. He had 662 three-point attempts, the most in Charleston's Division I history.
White was a three-time Southern Conference All-Tournament team selection, was named to the league All-Conference team his sophomore year and entered the 2009-10 season as a Bob Cousey Award candidate.
"I've asked him to sacrifice as far as running the team. I've asked him to show leadership. He plays with a lot of heart. He's been a great story. He'll always go down as one of my favorites."
He leaves the College of Charleston with a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. If you ask him, though, he wouldn't bring up any of those honors.
"I want to be remembered as a player that played his hardest every game, no matter what situation or circumstance," said White. "I think I showed up in big games fairly well. I just played hard. I didn't want to lose any game and the fact that when we did, the next game I was mad and I wanted to take the aggression out on my next opponent."
Early in the season, he was in what he considered a shooting slump. In the first nine games of the season, White averaged 7.8 points per game and scored in double-figures four times, which would still be considered by most as a solid performance.
"I definitely didn't want to be playing like that all year," said White when asked about his early season slump. "I was getting up extra shots when I could, before and after practice. It's not like it was just during games, I wasn't making them in practice either. That bothered me. Everybody I talked to told me it was all mental, so it was something I had to do on my own to break. I wanted to get out of it so bad that I did whatever I had to do to fix it."
White admits he is his own biggest critic and is always looking to better himself. In his slump, he found other ways to contribute to the team. During the nine games he posted 31 assists and was an impressive 19-for-25 from the free throw line and as a starter still provided the on-the-court leadership that has made him a critical component in the Cougars' success.
"The coaches were behind me and stayed positive for me. Even though I wasn't making shots I felt I was contributing in other ways so that was a positive thing for me. And we were still winning so I was happy about that."
White is proud of the award, and he is quick to credit his mom for the influence she has had on him.
"My mom gets all the credit," said White. "She spent a lot of her time taking me places, bringing me back and forth to Charleston. She used to rebound for me. She used to push me in the offseason and even during the season to do better, to be better. She would give me goals that she felt I needed to reach or that she would like me to reach. She's always wanted the best for me."
It was common to see Rhonda at the games, making the trek from Knoxville to Charleston frequently to cheer on her son.
"Watching him has been a remarkable experience," says his mother Rhonda White. "I never imagined anything like this. He has definitely been a great fit for the College and I really hate that is has ended. I think about what a great person he has become at CofC. I couldn't have asked for a better son."
White leaves the College of Charleston men's basketball program as one its best student-athletes and even more importantly as one if its best role models. White was indeed the perfect fit.
