University of North Carolina Athletics
Coby White
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: Trust The Process
February 27, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Twenty-three games into what was already considered one of the best freshman seasons in North Carolina history before Tuesday, Coby White felt as if he'd hit a wall, at least by his lofty standards.
White entered Tuesday's game against Syracuse averaging 9.7 points over his past three outings. In that span, he'd gone 11-for-37 from the field. That included a 3-for-16 mark on 3-pointers. Overall, those numbers suggested what he said he knew: He'd lost his shooting touch.
Subsequently, he said he started questioning his confidence. But he did what shooters do and spent more time in the gym, where he realized he needed to get lower in his shot and put more arc on it. He also sought advice from his family, specifically his brother Will, a graduate assistant on Wes Miller's staff at UNCG.
"You've hit a wall right now, but everything will pick up," White recalled his brother telling him. "Just get in the gym, get reps up, stay locked in and trust the process."
All of that paid off against the Orange.
In leading UNC to a 93-85 win, White scored a career-high 34 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He made 6-of-11 3-pointers, as many as he'd made in the previous four games combined. His other 16 points came near the rim and at the free-throw line, where he went 10-for-10.
The 30-point game marked White's third of the season; he had 33 against Texas and Miami. No other Tar Heel freshman has ever accomplished that feat.
"I've said it before, he's the best scoring point guard that I have coached," Roy Williams said. "Ty Lawson got to that stage later that he could really score. Coby is a scorer and I have never minded a scoring point guard. I knew he was bound to make some because he hadn't made any the last three or four weeks."
The tallest team in the country according to KenPom.com's average height rating, Syracuse entered Tuesday ranked 16th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (92.3). It was also holding its opponents to an effective field goal percentage of 46.9 (30th nationally) and forcing turnovers on 23.3 percent of opponent possessions (11th).
None of that deterred White, though. He sliced through and shot over the top of the Orange's zone defense, beginning with a made 3-pointer on his first shot less than four minutes in.
"I hit my first one and then I felt like I got to the line after that," said White, the first Carolina freshman to make at least 10-of-10 free throws in a game since Tyler Hansbrough went 14-for-14 against NC State in 2006.
"That was good for me to get into a rhythm. And just seeing the ball go in the basket helped me a lot."
Yet, Syracuse also the saw the ball go in the basket early and often. The Orange made 17 of its first 28 shots, including 7-of-13 3-pointers. When Marek Dolezaj made two free throws with 1:37 left until halftime, he pushed his team's lead to 46-38.
But then, White seized control.
He scored the final five points of the first half, cutting the deficit to 46-43. He then opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers. Ultimately, from the the 1:24 mark of the first half to the 15:14 mark of the second, White scored or assisted on 16 of UNC's 20 points. The Tar Heels went from down eight points to up nine in that span.
"He's just always in attack," Cameron Johnson said. "He's a shot-maker, he's a scorer and he's pretty strong for his size."
With 12:02 left, White heaved up a 3-pointer near the Carolina bench. The ball bounced off the back rim, went straight up into the air and miraculously swished through the basket, giving him 27 points, more than any UNC player had ever scored against Syracuse. Kenny Smith previously held that distinction with 25 points against the Orange in the 1987 East Regional final.
White added seven more points the rest of the way. Through 27 games, he's now averaging 15.9 points, the fifth-highest scoring average by a Tar Heel freshman. Only Hansbrough (18.9), Rashad McCants (17.0), Joseph Forte (16.7) and Phil Ford (16.4) are ahead of him.
"He amazed me tonight," Kenny Williams said. "He amazed the heck out of me. He's doing stuff that's just like, 'Wow.' That shot that hit the back rim and went all the way up and dropped in, I was like, 'OK, do your thing, Coby.'
"For him to play like that, to not play like a freshman, I think it says a lot about his game. He's a big-time player, and I think he's showing that every single night."
Twenty-three games into what was already considered one of the best freshman seasons in North Carolina history before Tuesday, Coby White felt as if he'd hit a wall, at least by his lofty standards.
White entered Tuesday's game against Syracuse averaging 9.7 points over his past three outings. In that span, he'd gone 11-for-37 from the field. That included a 3-for-16 mark on 3-pointers. Overall, those numbers suggested what he said he knew: He'd lost his shooting touch.
Subsequently, he said he started questioning his confidence. But he did what shooters do and spent more time in the gym, where he realized he needed to get lower in his shot and put more arc on it. He also sought advice from his family, specifically his brother Will, a graduate assistant on Wes Miller's staff at UNCG.
"You've hit a wall right now, but everything will pick up," White recalled his brother telling him. "Just get in the gym, get reps up, stay locked in and trust the process."
All of that paid off against the Orange.
In leading UNC to a 93-85 win, White scored a career-high 34 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He made 6-of-11 3-pointers, as many as he'd made in the previous four games combined. His other 16 points came near the rim and at the free-throw line, where he went 10-for-10.
The 30-point game marked White's third of the season; he had 33 against Texas and Miami. No other Tar Heel freshman has ever accomplished that feat.
"I've said it before, he's the best scoring point guard that I have coached," Roy Williams said. "Ty Lawson got to that stage later that he could really score. Coby is a scorer and I have never minded a scoring point guard. I knew he was bound to make some because he hadn't made any the last three or four weeks."
The tallest team in the country according to KenPom.com's average height rating, Syracuse entered Tuesday ranked 16th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (92.3). It was also holding its opponents to an effective field goal percentage of 46.9 (30th nationally) and forcing turnovers on 23.3 percent of opponent possessions (11th).
None of that deterred White, though. He sliced through and shot over the top of the Orange's zone defense, beginning with a made 3-pointer on his first shot less than four minutes in.
"I hit my first one and then I felt like I got to the line after that," said White, the first Carolina freshman to make at least 10-of-10 free throws in a game since Tyler Hansbrough went 14-for-14 against NC State in 2006.
"That was good for me to get into a rhythm. And just seeing the ball go in the basket helped me a lot."
Yet, Syracuse also the saw the ball go in the basket early and often. The Orange made 17 of its first 28 shots, including 7-of-13 3-pointers. When Marek Dolezaj made two free throws with 1:37 left until halftime, he pushed his team's lead to 46-38.
But then, White seized control.
He scored the final five points of the first half, cutting the deficit to 46-43. He then opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers. Ultimately, from the the 1:24 mark of the first half to the 15:14 mark of the second, White scored or assisted on 16 of UNC's 20 points. The Tar Heels went from down eight points to up nine in that span.
"He's just always in attack," Cameron Johnson said. "He's a shot-maker, he's a scorer and he's pretty strong for his size."
With 12:02 left, White heaved up a 3-pointer near the Carolina bench. The ball bounced off the back rim, went straight up into the air and miraculously swished through the basket, giving him 27 points, more than any UNC player had ever scored against Syracuse. Kenny Smith previously held that distinction with 25 points against the Orange in the 1987 East Regional final.
White added seven more points the rest of the way. Through 27 games, he's now averaging 15.9 points, the fifth-highest scoring average by a Tar Heel freshman. Only Hansbrough (18.9), Rashad McCants (17.0), Joseph Forte (16.7) and Phil Ford (16.4) are ahead of him.
"He amazed me tonight," Kenny Williams said. "He amazed the heck out of me. He's doing stuff that's just like, 'Wow.' That shot that hit the back rim and went all the way up and dropped in, I was like, 'OK, do your thing, Coby.'
"For him to play like that, to not play like a freshman, I think it says a lot about his game. He's a big-time player, and I think he's showing that every single night."
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