I had the opportunity to watch Royce White and his De LaSalle Islanders host the Benilde-St. Margaret Red Knights this past Saturday. I arrived at the game about five minutes after tip-off, and the game was already sold out. It actually appeared that they set up extra seating on the corner of the court, to accommodate additional fans, like Coach Tubby Smith, who was in attendance. White seems to draw quite the crowd, add in Benilde stars Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin commit) and Armond Battle (Tulsa commit), and you’ve got a gym packed to the rafters with fans. By the time I talked my way into the game, White was on the bench with two fouls. The Islanders went into halftime down 21-30. White came back into the game at the beginning of the 2nd half, he made an immediate impact. I believe he scored 4 out of his 5 Field goals within those first five minutes and cut the lead down to 3 points. Unfortunately, he received a technical foul for slamming a ball, and did not return to the game. He ended up only playing 12:27 minutes, but anyone can see, even in that short time, how developed his game is and what a solid player he is.

White is the most highly recruited Minnesota player, receiving offers from over 20 division one schools. Luckily, for Gopher fans, the University of Minnesota is at the top of his list. I had the chance to speak to White’s Grandfather, Frank White, after the game. It was truly a pleasure speaking with him, Mr. White has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. He is the founder of Respect Sports (www.respectsports.com) and has spent his career and life to promoting the benefits of sports and recreation. Mr. White is currently the Manager of Recreation Programs and Athletics for the City of Richfield, Minnesota's Recreation Services Department. He attended the University of Minnesota and has served as a Board Member to many state associations that provide athletic services. He also serves as a Basketball official evaluator for the Minnesota State High School League. He’s been a College and high school basketball official for over 30 years, a member of the Minnesota High School League Officials and Sportsmanship Advisory Committees and a former Basketball Rule Clinician. He’s also been a volunteer coach for over 20 years. I don’t know if there would by anyone better suited to advise Minnesota’s top player than Mr. White.

Frank White spoke very candidly with GopherHole about the recruitment of his grandson, his game, his areas of development, and academic qualifications:

GH: Are you Royce’s mentor in basketball and life?
FW: I love my grandson, and I am trying to mentor and help him get through some of the other parts of life other than basketball. We do talk basketball, but Royce is the player he is because of Royce. The things that he’s learned, he’s learned on his own. We certainly talk about things; today we’ll talk about some things that maybe occurred during the game.

GH: Royce received a technical foul during the game, can you describe what happened?
FW: He got frustrated with his team, not any one person. Benilde scored a couple baskets just when they got back in the game, so he slammed the ball down and got a technical foul because he showed disrespect. He wasn’t really doing it to the officials, but it was a frustration thing. I wish the officials would have seen it more as that, but if they wouldn’t of called it, the other team would have gotten upset. It was one of those mistakes, a young player can make one time, and it never happens again.

GH: Do you mind me asking if you’re Royce’s father figure in his life?
FW: Yes. His Dad’s really not too involved; he talks to his father periodically. He’s lived with me for the last few years, he’s back living with his Grandmother. I would say if there’s a consistent male in his life, it’s probably me.

GH: How would you describe his game for people who haven’t had the opportunity to see him?
FW: Royce is right now, as a 16-year-old, an exceptionally talented player. In fact, if he works at it, and I’ve been around this game for a while, he could be one of the best players ever, out of Minnesota, if he works at it.

GH: When I spoke to Royce last year, he had mentioned that you held all of his offers from him, so he could focus on school. Where has he received offers at, as of right now?
FW: The list, to the best of my knowledge is, Arizona, Arkansas, Creighton, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, Seton Hall, Texas, USC, Wisconsin, Virginia, Nebraska, Texas A & M, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.

GH: Are there any schools that he’s received interest from, but no offers?
FW: Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, and Ohio State.

GH: Where has he taken visits to?
FW: We haven’t taken any visits yet.

GH: Haven’t you had visits to the U?
FW: We’ve had unofficial visits to the U. We go to a few games there.

GH: What kind of interaction have you had with Tubby Smith and what has he told Royce about playing for the U?
FW: Well, they’ve offered. The University of Minnesota, would like Royce to play for them. In fact, I’ll tell you this story; last April, when the U announced Tubby was, in fact, hired, I pulled over to the side of the road while to pay attention to the story and make sure I listened. I went and picked up Royce from school and asked him if he heard the news. Dan Monson had recruited him since he was a 9th grader. I said, guaranteed, in the next two weeks, Tubby will be here to see you, and he was. Tubby is obviously a great coach for the University of Minnesota. We’re excited about that. He’s a great teacher. Obviously this year he has shown what a great coach he is, because he has basically taken the same kids, and having them compete at a pretty high level.

GH: Are you encouraging Royce to stay at home?
FW: (Laughs) Let me just say, Minnesota is for sure in the top 5.

GH: Who else would be in the top 5?
FW: I think he likes Michigan State, maybe Wisconsin; there may be a couple others that he potentially would consider. At this point in time, we’ll probably take a couple visits after the season, and in the spring, and there will be an official visit to the U.

GH: What does Royce need to work on skill-wise?
FW: Everyone that is recruiting him, it talking about recruiting him as a “3.” So, he has to work on his jumper a little more. I’ve talked with him about this summer, instead of playing pick-up ball, going to the gym 2-3 times a week and just shooting jump shots and free throws. He’s got great mechanics, he shoots the ball, he’s got a nice touch, but he’s got to learn to become a scorer. Some people are shooters, they shoot the ball and think about going in. A scorer knows he’s going in. He’s also going to have to learn how to play defense around the perimeter. He’s going to have to learn how to move his feet and work hard at that, since that’s where he’s going to play. Those are a couple things he’ll have to work on. He needs to improve on everything, but those are a few specific things he needs to work on.

GH: What about his friendship with Rodney Williams? Do they talk about committing to a college together? Is that a factor, to be able to play together?
FW: I know there are at least four schools that have said they want them both; the University of Minnesota is one of them. They have talked, and I’ve told Rodney’s father, when they get a little bit closer, if we talk a little bit, maybe we’ll do the package deal. It would have to be the same school for the same reason. A lot of things need to be in place. You look at a school like Wisconsin, who has a great program going, but I told Royce that we are going to download every program from every school he has an offer from, and we’re going to download their roster right now. We’re going to look at how old the “3” is, and is he a sophomore, is he a freshman? At the end of the season, we’re going to look at who’s making all conference at that level. You look at a sophomore who’s at that level right now that’s doing well, when Royce comes in, he’ll be a senior, and he’ll be expected to play limited minutes.

GH: So is one of your goals to have him start or get some solid minutes right away?
FW: His goal is to walk in and play right away. Some schools are telling him, they’re not recruiting another “3,” and we expect you to come in and play right now. Whether or not that will happen, I don’t know. I think it’s a wise decision to know when choosing a school, if there’s a good player in front of you. That is part of the process.

GH: I know there are some players that have been having problems with grades and qualifying for the U, will that be an issue for Royce?
FW: Royce has already passed the practice ACT, he got about a 22, he’s a smart kid. He’s not going to have any problems academically. This is another place he can always improve on. You can’t go into college thinking it’s going to be easy.

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