Former Rebel point guard Michael White has made a name for himself as one of the top assistant coaches in the country as he enters his seventh season coaching at his alma mater. White has been instrumental in the Rebels' rise to prominence in the Southeastern Conference. He's helped Ole Miss to three postseason berths and a pair of SEC West titles in the last four years, and the Rebel coaching staff has put together 85 wins during that span, just one shy of the school record by a coaching staff in a four-year span. White was named a finalist for BasketballScoop.com's 2009 Coaches Award, honoring the top assistants in the college game, when he helped Ole Miss to a winning record despite a rash of injuries to key players. A key figure in the recruiting arena, White has helped Ole Miss haul in some of the best signing classes in program history during his tenure. The incoming class in his first season back was ranked as high as third in college basketball by recruiting publications, while two recent classes have both been rated top 25 in the country. Working with the Rebel backcourt, he helped Terrico White adjust to the starting point guard role en route to 2009 SEC Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-America accolades. He has also tutored All-SEC guards Clarence Sanders, Todd Abernethy, David Huertas, and most recently, Chris Warren. A four-year starter at the point himself, Michael White helped captain the Rebels to national prominence in the late 1990s and returned to the program as an assistant coach on June 16, 2004. Playing for the Rebels from 1995-99, he entered the starting lineup in the eighth game of his freshman season and missed only one start at the point the remainder of his four years in Oxford. Over that span, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound floor general helped guide Ole Miss to one of the most successful stints in the program's history, earning consecutive SEC Western Division titles, three straight NCAA Tournament berths and the Rebels' first ever Tournament win in 1999. White led the squad in assists all four years and ranks sixth in school history with 370 career dimes. He was a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and a member of the 1999 SEC Good Works Team. White was invited to the NBA's Utah Jazz summer training camp upon completing his college career. He divided the 1999-2000 season playing professionally for the IBL's New Mexico Slam and in England before returning to Ole Miss in the spring of 2000 to complete his B.A. in business. Before returning to Oxford, he spent four years on Mike LaPlante's Jacksonville State staff, helping coordinate the Gamecocks' recruiting efforts for three seasons. His time in Jacksonville, Ala., included the school's first-ever league tournament victory in 2003 en route to JSU's winningest season in its Division I history. He was promoted to associate head coach prior to his final season there. Born on March 2, 1977, in Dunedin, Fla., White grew up around college athletics and the great game of basketball. His father, Kevin White, is currently the Athletics Director at Duke University after stints at Notre Dame, Arizona State, Tulane and Maine. Michael's younger brother, Danny, played basketball at Towson and Notre Dame, and is now the Executive Director for the UMAA Foundation. Youngest brother Brian is a senior account executive in the sports properties department at the University of Arkansas. White played his high school basketball at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, La., under nationally respected coach Chris Jennings. He is married to the former Kira Zschau, an All-SEC volleyball player at Ole Miss, who also has a law degree from the University. The couple has two daughters, Rylee and Maggie, and twin boys, Collin and Keegan. |
5/14/2013 - M. Basketball Rebels To Face Kansas State In Inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge
|
|||||||||||
