Wake Forest Athletics
Andrien White Happy to Just be Himself
11/6/2019 10:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
While sitting out of competition due to NCAA transfer rules last season, Andrien White played the role on the scout team of Duke's RJ Barrett, Syracuse's Tyus Battle and other top stars in the ACC to help Wake Forest prepare for each game.
This season, White will be able to play himself — and it very well could be a starring role.
"We're looking for him to have a huge impact on our team," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said about the graduate student transfer from Charlotte. "He went through a lot that sit out year. We know his impact is going to be across the board."
White is a prolific shooter, owning the Charlotte freshman record with 67 made 3-pointers in a season. That's a number that would be tied for the 13th-best in Wake Forest program history. White not only scored often while playing on the scout team, he also talked a lot of trash.
"I had to come in every day and emulate the great players in this conference," White said. "You had to treat it like a game, because that's how I could best help my teammates. I had to talk a lot of trash."
"That's what they're going to do in the game tomorrow," he told his teammates.
After starting 73 games in three seasons at Charlotte, White had to treat practices as his games last season with the Deacs.
"I probably had the most reps in practice last year," he said. "I studied the scout team as hard as they did. Just learning that stuff was fun for me and kept me interacting during the season. Every week was something different."
His work certainly didn't go unnoticed.
"He was tremendous," Manning said. "He was everybody. No disrespect to anybody on our scout team, but he was the guy. He was always the best player from the team we were playing."
Prior to being a scout team all-star, White excelled at Charlotte, where he averaged 12.2 points while hitting 37.9 percent of his shots behind the arc.
"When I was coming out of high school, I had two offers," White said at ACC Operation Basketball Tuesday. "I wanted to take a visit to Charlotte first, so Western Kentucky took the offer off the table. So I really only had Charlotte. They were the ones that took their chances on me."
In his three seasons at Charlotte, White contributed 96 assists, 23 blocked shots and 137 steals. White's defensive awareness comes from a combination of physical skills and a cerebral mindset.
"Defense is one of my strengths and taking more charges is something I'm working on," White said. "I get in the passing lanes and anticipate where the ball is going. It goes down to the scouting report in terms of what plays will be run and what kinds of passes will be thrown. Study the scouting report and different players. Then it's just anticipation."
White declared for the NBA draft following his junior season at Charlotte, got an initial evaluation and decided to return to college for his senior season. Shortly after, he transferred to Wake Forest. White joined his father to watch his brother, Andrew White III, play at UNC while competing for Syracuse in 2017 and was blown away with the enormity of ACC basketball.
"This is a different level of basketball," Andrien said. "This is something I want to play in. I just looked up and it was amazing. The scale at which the ACC competes is just incredible."
So when White decided to transfer and the Demon Deacon coaching staff made him a priority, the decision became pretty easy.
After seeing White in practice for nearly 16 months, Manning believes he can contribute in a variety of ways this season.
"Different things on different nights, just depending on what we need — just being versatile within what I can do will be a big thing for this team," White said about what he will bring this season.
His final season — his first with Wake Forest — begins for real on at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 when the Deacs travel to face Boston College in the season opener.
"It's my last year and my last go-around," White said. "I'm looking forward to that. I've been embracing my senior year and want it to be the best year possible for these guys. I'm looking forward to the journey."
This season, White will be able to play himself — and it very well could be a starring role.
"We're looking for him to have a huge impact on our team," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said about the graduate student transfer from Charlotte. "He went through a lot that sit out year. We know his impact is going to be across the board."
White is a prolific shooter, owning the Charlotte freshman record with 67 made 3-pointers in a season. That's a number that would be tied for the 13th-best in Wake Forest program history. White not only scored often while playing on the scout team, he also talked a lot of trash.
"I had to come in every day and emulate the great players in this conference," White said. "You had to treat it like a game, because that's how I could best help my teammates. I had to talk a lot of trash."
"That's what they're going to do in the game tomorrow," he told his teammates.
After starting 73 games in three seasons at Charlotte, White had to treat practices as his games last season with the Deacs.
"I probably had the most reps in practice last year," he said. "I studied the scout team as hard as they did. Just learning that stuff was fun for me and kept me interacting during the season. Every week was something different."
His work certainly didn't go unnoticed.
"He was tremendous," Manning said. "He was everybody. No disrespect to anybody on our scout team, but he was the guy. He was always the best player from the team we were playing."
Prior to being a scout team all-star, White excelled at Charlotte, where he averaged 12.2 points while hitting 37.9 percent of his shots behind the arc.
"When I was coming out of high school, I had two offers," White said at ACC Operation Basketball Tuesday. "I wanted to take a visit to Charlotte first, so Western Kentucky took the offer off the table. So I really only had Charlotte. They were the ones that took their chances on me."
In his three seasons at Charlotte, White contributed 96 assists, 23 blocked shots and 137 steals. White's defensive awareness comes from a combination of physical skills and a cerebral mindset.
"Defense is one of my strengths and taking more charges is something I'm working on," White said. "I get in the passing lanes and anticipate where the ball is going. It goes down to the scouting report in terms of what plays will be run and what kinds of passes will be thrown. Study the scouting report and different players. Then it's just anticipation."
White declared for the NBA draft following his junior season at Charlotte, got an initial evaluation and decided to return to college for his senior season. Shortly after, he transferred to Wake Forest. White joined his father to watch his brother, Andrew White III, play at UNC while competing for Syracuse in 2017 and was blown away with the enormity of ACC basketball.
"This is a different level of basketball," Andrien said. "This is something I want to play in. I just looked up and it was amazing. The scale at which the ACC competes is just incredible."
So when White decided to transfer and the Demon Deacon coaching staff made him a priority, the decision became pretty easy.
After seeing White in practice for nearly 16 months, Manning believes he can contribute in a variety of ways this season.
"Different things on different nights, just depending on what we need — just being versatile within what I can do will be a big thing for this team," White said about what he will bring this season.
His final season — his first with Wake Forest — begins for real on at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 when the Deacs travel to face Boston College in the season opener.
"It's my last year and my last go-around," White said. "I'm looking forward to that. I've been embracing my senior year and want it to be the best year possible for these guys. I'm looking forward to the journey."
Players Mentioned
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