Graduate transfer James White working to fit in at Georgia Tech
ATLANTA -- James White was the last player to join the Georgia Tech roster this summer. He was finishing up his course work so he could graduate at Arkansas-Little Rock and be eligible to play for the Yellow Jackets as a graduate student.
White missed the team's bonding trip to the Bahamas and has worked hard to catch up with the others. Now it appears the athletic forward from Jonesboro has caught up with the others and is ready to help the team as it continues to improve.
"He is getting better," Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory said. "On defense, in particular."
White is coming off his best game since joining the team. He earned his first start of the season on Monday against Southeastern Louisiana and responded with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 22 minutes. It was his second double-double of the season.
"I thought he responded well to the start defensively in the first half," Gregory said. "We ask him to do a lot of different things, as far as guarding on the perimeter and guarding the post, so I was pleased with him."
White is averaging 5.2 points and 6.0 rebounds. He has snagged 29 rebounds in the past three games.
"He's a different rebounder than Chuck (Mitchell) and Nick (Jacobs)," Gregory said. "Ben (Lammers) rebounds with length. Chuck and Nick rebound with brute force. James is the long, athletic rebounder. He's able to play over the top of guys, and you've seen that a couple times."
White has worked hard to catch up and get to this point.
"In the summer, they got me up to speed with film from the Bahamas trip, up to speed with the plays," White said. "Individual work with Coach Gregory and the other coaches got me to where I am now. Credit the coaches, individual work and film work."
Gregory wouldn't say whether White had supplanted Nick Jacobs in the starting lineup. Both will play substantial roles Wednesday when the Yellow Jackets (8-3) host Colgate at 7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.
"The conversation I had with Coach was to be aggressive on both ends on every possession," White said.
Colgate has won two straight since a 27-point loss to Syracuse on Dec. 8. The Raiders (4-6) were projected to finish in the bottom tier of the Patriot League after losing five of their top six scorers.
Colgate is led by point guard Adam Tillotson, a 6-foot senior who averages 11.5 points and 5.4 assists. Jordan Swopshire, a 6-7 sophomore, averages 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds. Malcolm Regisford, a 6-8 freshman, leads the team with 7.0 rebounds per game and eight blocked shots.
The roster includes junior guard Nathan Harries, a 6-foot-2 junior from Centennial in Alpharetta.
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 10:07 PM with the headline "Graduate transfer James White working to fit in at Georgia Tech ."