Royce White signs with an Italian team
July 12, 2018
Former Iowa State forward and first round NBA draft pick Royce White has found a new home.
White signed with Fiat Torino, a team in Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) (the top league in the Italian basketball system), On Thursday, according to Sportando.
Fiat Torino plays in Turin, Italy which is located in the northeast corner of Italy and was the host city for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The head coach of Fiat Torino is Larry Brown, who coached the Kansas Jayhawks to an NCAA Championship in 1985 and coached the Detroit Pistons to an NBA Championship in 2004.
With White signing with Fiat Torino, there are now three former Cyclones competing in the LBA. Guard Tyrus McGee plays for The Flexx Pistoia and forward Dustin Hogue plays for Dolomiti Energia Trento.
White was previously on the London Lighting of the National Basketball League in Canada. While playing with the Lightning, White averaged 25.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game last season. White also finished with a 55.1 shooting percentage, which ranked fifth in the league.
FIat Torino finished 13-17 last season and missed the playoffs. Despite missing the playoffs, the club was able to win the tournament for the Italian Cup and qualified for the EuroCup tournament.
The EuroCup is a secondary level basketball tournament that consists of 24 teams from all around Europe. There are three other Cyclones with teams playing in the EuroCup, Matt Thomas plays for Valencia Basket, Melvin Ejim plays for BC UNICS and Hogue with Dolomiti Energia Trento.
White will also be playing for the Hilton Magic Legends in The Basketball Tournament in July with a handful of other former Cyclones.
The EuroCup regular season begins on October 3, 2018 and concludes on December 19, 2018. LBA regular season matchups begin on October 7, 2018 and finish in May 2019.