Royce White: The anxiety disorder and thoughts from NCAA Coaches

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"That's the toughest matchup for anybody in this league, I'm sure," said Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy.

“White is one of the tough match ups in our league, in terms of his size and strength, that has this ball skill that he has. He’s like Magic Johnson, he’s a point forward. He can do so many things, he gets excited about getting his guys shots. On the flip side he can still score and drive, post-shoot-up. He’s a tough guard and you have guys that can shoot the ball.”

There’s no need to squint at your computer screen. Yes. Missouri’s head coach did compare Royce White to Magic Johnson. Fred Hoiberg’s response?
“Let’s keep that in this room,” joked the Mayor.

Kansas State coach Frank Martin said White reminds him of former Big 12 matchup nightmares like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and Blake Griffin.

"He's a pro. I wish I could give you some scientific explanation for it," said Martin, "You're talking about a guy who's a high-level athlete that has a high skill level and also has a tremendous understanding of how to play."

Hoiberg has said that White's passing skills for his size remind him of former Minnesota Timberwolves teammate Kevin Garnett.

“I was talking to a pro scout today who’s seen (White) four or five times,” Calhoun said, “and he just said he’s got some McHale inside. “You don’t want to get polarized on him and get beat. He can help facilitate that. So it becomes very difficult.”

“Someone there called me to say, ‘Cal, you can help this young man and he would be a terrific player for you.’ And I said, ‘Tell me about him.’

“Then I called Tubby, and I said, ‘Tubby, do you have a problem if we talk?’ Tubby was great about it. Then I flew up and I met with he and his mother. It was done and I was happy. I said, ‘You know what, this is going to be something good.’ And then he couldn't get on the plane.“I knew he had some issues, but it wasn’t anything of the heart,” said Calipari. “I’ve done this a long time, and if a young man has a good heart, I can deal with everything else.

“I’m happy he’s playing well, doing well.”

One of the first Division I coaches to express interest in giving him a second chance was Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg, who previously worked in the Minnesota Timberwolves front office and was familiar with White's background. Hoiberg did his due diligence, getting glowing reviews on White from his teachers, coaches and even Tubby Smith before inviting the forward to campus for a face-to-face visit with the coaching staff and athletic administrators.

"We did talk to a lot of people," Hoiberg said. "This wasn't a decision we made in five minutes. We did a lot of homework. When he came in, I had an open mind and wanted to make my own impression. From the very first time he came in, he was an impressive kid."

“When he called to tell me about the incident at the mall, I was like, ‘You’re kidding me,’his grandfather Frank White said. “I was dumbfounded something like that would happen with him. The laptop thing, the police department knew he didn’t take it. They thought he knew who took it, and they were pressuring him.”

First He had full scholarship, there is free laptop for him.

Second he is in a rich family, if he want a laptop, his grandpa can buy him a good one

Third if he want a piano, he can buy it, he really did it.

4th his uncle, is (Hall of Fame baseball player) Dave Winfield,.


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The self-taught pianist and music major has written more than 100 songs in the past 18 months. He also has started filming a documentary called "An Anxious Mind" in order to educate people about the anxiety disorder he has suffered from since high school. And besides the fledgling record label he and some Minneapolis friends launched last year, White has dreams of one day starting a bottled water company and a clothing line.

But, as much as he tried, White couldn’t get away from basketball. He saw the other guys from the class of 2009 dominating in college: John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Jordan Hamilton, Derrick Favors, etc. Watching them succeed at the next level ignited a fire in him. Not a jealous type of fire, but a competitive one.

White knew he could hang with those guys on the court.

“Competitiveness is instilled in you,” he said. “Seeing them being so successful pushed me to be successful. I had a burning to get back to the court. I almost wanted to prove something to myself.”

There were several schools in the running for White, but he wanted to stay close to home and go to a place that was an underdog on the national scene. After leaving the sport, many people wrote him off – and so he felt he was something of an underdog too.

"I just try to be very cautious now because I know being a college athlete is a very dangerous life," White said. "Any small thing can be a bigger thing than it's supposed to be, so I try to steer clear of trouble and I always advise my teammates to do the same thing."


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White's hands stretch nearly a foot from thumb to pinkie, and he can palm the ball like it's a grapefruit. Those massive mitts come in handy when he decides to attack the rim. White, in fact, often gets the Cyclones into their offensive sets in transition, then settles into the paint for an easy bucket.
Gopher Basketball Q & A: Royce White

GS: Is there anyone you pattern your style of game after?
White: “I would have to say Lebron [James]. I like to be physical by using a lot of power and force. At the same time, I take pride in my ability to dish the ball and set up my teammates.”
GS: Earlier you told a story about how you went to the Como Zoo and a silverback gorilla’s hand was pressed against the glass and your hand was just as big as his. Do you feel like having big hands is an advantage?
White: “When it comes to dribbling and pulling up off of the dribble I can control the ball a lot easier than others because of the size of my hands."
GS: “Do they affect your free throws like Shaq?”
White: “I really haven't had a problem with free throws shooting thus far in my basketball career.”

Earlier this fall, White bench pressed 185-pounds an astounding 28 times.

“That’s more than anybody did at the NBA Combine, I think ever. His strength is super-human,” said Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg. “To have somebody with that size, that ability and that touch, it’s something I’ve never seen before.”

The thing is, White doesn’t even consider himself as a weight lifting enthusiast. He didn’t come to Iowa State looking to shatter weight room records. White simply didn’t want to be that guy who got embarrassed during conditioning drills.

“As far as his skills translating to the next level — spacing is so much better in that league, because the 3-point line is five feet farther back.“There’s not a lot of people who can stay in front of this guy when he’s coming down the lane.”


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Hoiberg said. “He flew to Italy when we played over there last summer. He flew to all of our games except three.“He flew to (Texas A&M) — and he had a triple-double.”

My grandfather drove me," White said Wednesday at KFC Yum! Arena as the Cyclones prepared to meet UConn in the NCAA Tournament. "He's great. He has been one of my biggest basketball supporters since I was young. This is fun for him, too."

Frank said fans should understand while it made Royce a “little more comfortable” to travel by car, it’s not that his grandson hasn’t done a lot of flying. Royce was on all the Iowa State Big 12 airplane trips except one and took a preseason trip with the Cyclones to Italy. “He’s been flying since third or fourth grade,” Frank said.

"I do fly. I don't like flying. This is Scott Christopherson's last go-around. This is Chris Allen's last go-around. It would be selfish of me not to take a nine-hour drive. Sometimes I have to deal with things the way I do so I can give my team the best me."

Thursday night, UConn will see how good that is.

 

"Royce is as a talented player as we would have on our team," said Gophers coach Tubby Smith, "His ability to understand the game and pass the ball, his ability to go get the ball off the rebound and be a bruiser inside and just his ability to make other people better around him -- he's always had that skill set."

"It's because of Royce," said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team lost at Iowa State on Jan. 28. "He's the key, because whenever your 5-man or the guy you play in the low post is your best ball-handler and your best passer, that's a pretty good combination."

http://videos.kansascity.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=128375101&item_index=7&all=1&sort=NULL

In this video, Self said he had seen one Royce White in his team, Marcus Morris

"When they had so many newcomers at the beginning of the year, I don't think the national media and teams had a chance to see what Iowa State is about," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "They're playing their best basketball now." whose team lost at Iowa State too

 

Greg Smith:
Perhaps his most unusual natural feature is his massive hands that measured 11.25" long. With the biggest hands in the draft, Smith can legitimately palm a basketball pass. For comparison, the top-ranked center Enes Kanter has hands that are 9.5" long.

White

hands stretch nearly a foot from thumb to pinkie, and he can palm the ball like it's a grapefruit.

who has a bigger hands??