Jack White is one of Australia’s most talented basketballers, but on the eve of potential Olympic selection he believes his team-first mindset has been key in helping him reach the heights he has in his career to date.
The 26-year-old captained a star-studded Duke team that featured the likes of NBA stars Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett. He’s one of a handful of players to have won an NBL and an NBA title, and he’s represented his nation on the world stage at last year’s FIBA World Cup.
White has signed a deal to return to Melbourne United in NBL25, but is still pursuing further NBA opportunities prior to the start of next season, and is hoping to build on his two-way stint with Denver in the 2022-23 season, and his 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies this year.
White offered an insight into how he approaches his own game on a recent episode of The Huddle.
“Control the controllables,” White said. “Even at Duke being a part of super talented teams with Zion, RJ and Cam, I could go on about the teammates I crossed paths with there. It’s starring in your role with your controllables.
“Mine is my effort at the level, am I talking on defence, do I have a good presence, am I crashing the boards, am I paying attention to the scout, am I giving the coach any reason to take me out of the game?
“If you take care of those controllables and set the tone with your energy and effort – and communication is a super underrated one in my opinion – if you talk you’re wider in defence, if you talk you’re able to help your teammates, if you talk you’re not thinking about yourself, you’re thinking about the team. I think that brought out the best in me.
“In Summer League I try to do those things to start believing the basketball minds are going to appreciate that part of it and see past guys who might go to Summer League and think scoring is going to put your name out there, and for some that might be the case. For high draft picks that’s the role you look to get into but for guys like me, I was an older rookie a couple of years ago trying to find my way and something I learned at United and had to do because I was a part of a super talented team.
“’Delly’ (Matthew Dellavedova), ‘Shili’ (Shea Ili), ‘CG’ (Chris Goulding), ‘JLA’ (Jo Lual-Acuil Jr), guys who can go and get it done, but how do I remain effective off the ball, space the floor, how hard do I run in transition, am I running to the corner, am I being a good teammate?
“There are so many things you can do to better the team and be a good teammate.”
White’s initial two-way opportunity with the Denver Nuggets stemmed from a strong performance with the franchise’s Summer League team, where he was one of 14 undrafted talents searching for an NBA opportunity.
He ended the season having played 17 games for the Nuggets to earn a championship ring. During that campaign he played 14 games for the Grand Rapids Gold, where he averaged 20.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Australian former NBA talents including Mitch Creek have often been vocal about the difficulty of splitting time between an NBA team and its G-League affiliate, and White says the health maintained on Denver’s main roster through the title-winning season was a double-edged sword.
“It’s pretty hectic, especially with the Nuggets, their G-League team is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so a couple of hour flight is the quickest way to get there,” he said.
“Injuries happen and different things come up, so you need to be ready for anything. I remember one of the most absurd times I had to go and meet the Nuggets boys was when I was about to go and take a nap on game day and literally just put my phone down and got a call from the team coordinator saying ‘can you get to the airport in 90 minutes, coach wants you back in time for a game’.
“It can happen pretty crazily like that but for the most part got fortunate again because the Nuggets guys fortunately stayed healthy for most of the year, it was kind of a blessing and a curse that they were able to stay healthy because it didn’t give me a lot of opportunity on an NBA floor, but being in that environment in practice, in the locker room, the amount of learning that just naturally occurs is pretty surreal.
“The great thing was if I was going to be with the Nuggets and not getting that court time, I was able to continue to work on my game in a game setting with the Grand Rapids Gold in the G-League being coached by Andre Miller who is a legend of the game. We had a great team there and guys I still keep up with and talk to to this day, just like the Nuggets.”