NBA future for Royce White up in the air
ISU forward Royce White defends Kentucky forward Anthony Davis in the teams’ matchup Saturday night. Iowa State faced off with No. 1 and overall top-seeded Kentucky in the third round of the NCAA tournament in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, March 17, falling 87-71 to the Wildcats. The Cyclones trailed for all but the game’s opening 21 seconds and tied the game only once, at 42 all midway through the second half, in falling to the Wildcats. Kentucky had four players score in double figures, led by Marquis Teague’s 24. The Cyclones had three double-digit scorers, led by White’s 23-point effort.
March 18, 2012
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s been a few years, but ISU men’s basketball fans have been through a nervous wait before.
After the 2008-09 season, fans wondered whether or not forward Craig Brackins would leave for the NBA or return for another season. Fast forward to 2011-12 and it’s another forward in Royce White that fans are worried about.
The decision, White said, will be made during the next few weeks.
“I don’t know yet,” White said. “I’ll talk to coach [Fred] Hoiberg and see what he thinks and leave it in his hands. I trust him wholeheartedly.”
White was the dominant player on the floor for the Cyclones in nearly every game this season. He led the team in points (13.4), rebounds (9.3), assists (5), blocks (0.9) and steals (1.2) per game on the year.
White also asserted himself as one of the best players in the country, having solid offensive performances against players considered consensus NBA lottery picks in Connecticut’s Andre Drummond and Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones, who both took turns guarding White on Saturday night.
The performances on the national stage of the NCAA tournament, said Hoiberg — a former NBA scout — vaulted White’s NBA draft stock quite a bit.
“We’ll evaluate [his future] in the next couple weeks,” Hoiberg said. “He’s put himself in position to do a lot of different things. He had a phenomenal year.
“Royce certainly put himself in a position where he’s going to have some options.”
His teammates lauded the sophomore’s play in the wake of the team’s 87-71 loss to Kentucky on Saturday in the NCAA tournament.
Senior guard Chris Allen said it was a privilege to have played with White in his lone year at Iowa State.
“His career is just getting started, and I had the opportunity to play with him, so that’s great,” Allen said. “I have no idea [if he’ll leave or not]. Hopefully he stays another year. I feel like he can get a lot better. But, I mean, if he feels like he needs to take his game to the NBA, next level, then I’m with him with that too.”
Teammate Bubu Palo also sang his praises of White after the Cyclones were eliminated from the NCAA tournament at the hands of Kentucky.
Palo, who will be a redshirt junior next season, said White was “fantastic” against Kentucky and hopes the Minneapolis native doesn’t leave for the NBA so the Cyclones can build on what they’ve accomplished this season.
“From start to finish, he played his heart out [against Kentucky]. He gave it his all … and it obviously gave him a lot of attention,” Palo said. “I’m proud of the way he played. Hopefully he comes back next year so we can keep it going.”
For now, though, teammates, coaches and fans will have to play that waiting game. The public has learned a lot about what makes White tick — most notably his anxiety disorder — and have come to know a unique individual.
White, though, nearly came to tears when addressing media outside Iowa State’s locker room when pondering his future. Though he knew he’d be asked about it, White said all that was on his mind in that moment was what Ames and Iowa State have meant to him in the past two years.
“I’m not even thinking about [the NBA] yet, to be honest,” White said. “All my head’s filled with right now is disappointment for the community of Ames.
“Ames gave me my life back, to be quite honest. It just really hurts that I couldn’t take it further.”
