Young’s White finds his comfort at Georgetown
During the recruiting process for Young’s Paul White, the talented 6-9 senior made a point of finding the right comfort level — on and off the floor — before ultimately deciding on a school.
On his official visit to Georgetown this weekend, his second visit to the Washington, D.C., campus, White felt it and made his decision early Sunday morning.
“While on my visit here it made me realize this is the place for me,” White said of his commitment to Georgetown. “I felt that comfort level I was looking for with the coaching staff, the players and the environment here. This was the place I could easily see myself going to school and playing.”
Georgetown became a major player in White’s recruitment when assistant coach Tavaras Hardy joined the staff. The former North- western assistant coach had built a relationship prior to his move to Georgetown with White, who visited Georgetown unofficially in late June.
Hardy also helped land former Young star and White’s teammate, L.J. Peak. Though Peak moved back to South Carolina for his senior year, the 6-5 wing played last season with White and the Dolphins.
During White’s visit, head coach John Thompson III and his staff sat the Young star down and showed video of the player they hope he can become.
“They showed film of Jeff Green, a player they believe has capabilities similar to what I have,” White said of the former Georgetown All-American who now plays in the NBA. “They showed how he excelled in their system and in their style of play.”
The versatile forward, who is comfortable at his size playing on the perimeter with his terrific skill level, is ranked No. 54 in the country in the Class of 2014 by Rivals. com and No. 48 by Scout.com. White has touch around the basket, can step out and face the basket out to the three-point line and is a very good passer and ballhandler for a 6-9 forward.
White enjoyed what he described as a great visit to Miami, Fla., in early September and had future visits set up with Connecticut, DePaul and Minnesota. But the fit and allure of playing at Georgetown was too much to wait any longer.
Georgetown’s impressive recruiting class now includes the top 100 trio of White, Peak and 6-8 forward and top 50 recruit Isaac Copeland, along with point guard Tre Campbell.
For his senior season at Young, White will team up with the nation’s top player, Jahlil Okafor, for what is expected to be the preseason No. 1 team in the state.