The UNC Wilmington Seahawks burst onto the national scene last week when they came into Rupp Arena and upset the 12th ranked Kentucky Wildcats, a team that may bolster more top draft prospects than any other program in the nation. None of that mattered to the Seahawks though, who were able to capsize the titanic ship that is the Kentucky men's basketball program behind the stellar play of their seasoned roster. Most stellar of all for UNC Wilmington was a player who wasn't even featured in the starting lineup, junior forward Trazarien White. White put up a statline of 27 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 56% from the field and 100% from three, a performance that left Kentucky looking for answers all night. So who is Trazarien White? How good is he? And why the hell is he on the bench?
pc: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
The easy answer to the first question I posed is that Trazarien White is the best player on one of the best mid-major teams in the nation. If you're so inclined to build on that answer you could say he's a premier all-around player with next level upside. If you want to dig even deeper into that answer, stay tuned for the breakdown. (I guess said breakdown should also answer the second question)
As far as an answer concerning the third question, I'm not exactly sure. He started the first few games of the season and was playing well, before being sent to the bench where he has kept up the same elite level of performance. My only semblance of an answer is that coach Takayo Siddle is trying to match up his best player against opposing bench lineups. Trazarien is actually playing about five less minutes on average this season than he did last year, and yet he's better in almost every single statistical category. No matter what the answer may be, it seems to be working for both White and the Seahawks.
When it comes to White's game, he really does have one of the more intriguing playstyles that I've seen from a player. He does everything well on both sides of the floor, and can play positions one through four (maybe even five against a smaller lineup). He can score from all three levels, and is fantastic at getting to the line. He's an athletic freak who is able to live above the rim on both ends. He's a tenacious rebounder, once again on both ends. You really can't go wrong with this guy, and I just don't think he's getting talked about enough.
The most valuable part of his game is his ability to attack the rim, and more specifically drawing fouls while doing so. He's an elite difficult shot maker at all three levels, but especially on the drive. Let's look at some of his best work in this area of the court:
That's the first clip I'm including today and it's probably the nastiest move you'll see in this entire blog. To transition from a full speed drive into a decelerated step-through like that is seriously next level stuff. You will here me preach throughout this how much I love White's ability to draw contact, but here he completely avoids contact and I love that too. Just such a smooth move for a 6'7" forward, and something you really don't see even at higher levels of college basketball.
Here's a better look at White's ability to finish through contact. Not only does he finish through contact, he also gets to his spot while being basically tackled. He then absorbs contact on the shot itself. The fact that that's not called a foul is insane, but White is able to get his either way. This clip is also your first look at something that White does a ton of, cut off-ball. Unluckily I don't have a ton of film of that, but it shows in both his scoring and rebound numbers, he's constantly running towards the basket.
There's your first taste of White's elite ability to draw fouls. He has mastered jumping into the trailing defender and using their momentum to almost boost him towards the hoop. This is, of course, going to be called 90% of the time in addition to leaving said defender completely unable to block the and-one layup. He sets that drive up with a quick first step that leves the defender helpless from the get-go. Once he saw that the lane was open there was no doubt that was where he was headed next, and putting this guy in an open lane is a recipe for a free bucket.
This looks like a pretty simple play, but a few things before the actual shot led to it being successful. Look at how White squares himself up to the basket before driving. Not only does this make it easier for him to get that quick first-step off, but it also fools the defender into starting his closeout. At first it looks like this defender is in a great position to defend the drive, but that square up ruined his positioning. He then, of course, throws himself into this off-balance defender for the easy and-one.
Then there are those times when the defender does do a decent job of staying in front of White. The issue for those defenders is that Trazarien White is on another level when it comes to making difficult shots.
White actually beats the defender as he nears the basket, but he messes up when he stops, allowing the defender to recover. However, he does what he does best in order to create some space. He puts his shoulder into the defender. This gave him just enough space to lean back and get the shot up and over the taller defender.
Here's an interesting one. White seems to beat his defender with a spin move, but then picks up the ball to take a mid-range jumper. Whether this was because he saw the help defender creeping into the picture or because he knew contact was coming I'm not sure, but something made him take that shot. No matter what the reason was, the result was a foul and a free shot at the basket, one that just so happened to go in...because of course it did.
Layups and dunks make up about 43% of White's workload, but what about when he wants to step away from the basket? He shoots from the mid-range and three at an efficient clip, but he operates significantly less from those regions. When he does take mid-range jumpers or threes you can tell the mechanics of a solid shooter are all present.
One thing that is very valuable about White's game is his ability to create his own shot. Here you see him do just that from the mid-range using some nifty dribble moves and a side-step to create space. He doesn't do this a lot, but he was absolutely locked in during this Kentucky game. If a coach/program can unlock this consistently from him you're looking at an NBA player.
How about a few steps deeper? Threes only make up about 12% of White's total offensive output, but he shoots a very efficient 41.2% from deep. Again, if he could increase his volume while remaining efficient you cannot argue that he isn't built for next-level play.
Here he is creating his own shot from deep (again he was cooking against one of the best team's in the country). He once again gets his defender off balance, and once he's given that space you know the shot is going up. That's a forward who primarily operates in the paint doing that from beyond the arc...
Nothing too special about that catch-and-shoot three (apart from once again being able to recognize very smooth shooting mechanics) but the ability to draw the foul rears it's head again.
All in all, his eye-value offensive game is incredibly well-rounded, but it's also very raw. He is very very good attacking the rim, but his mid-range and three-point jumpers need work. Not necessarily because he's not a good shooter, because he is, but because he's inconsistent from these spots. His percentages wouldn't tell you that, but someone who's consistent is comfortable, and his volume doesn't scream comfortable to me. With a little tweaking and more reps White will get comfortable, and his volume will increase, and his mechanics should stay true and allow those splits to remain efficient.
Now onto what makes me believe in Trazarien White more than anything. His hustle and ability to hustle. Yes, those are two different things. I can go out on a basketball court and give my all, my 100%, and I'm still going to be awful. I'm not athletic enough, not big enough, not strong enough to make an impact on a basketball court, no matter how much effort I give. When it comes to White, well he gives his 100%, and he is athletic enough, big enough, and strong enough to make a real difference on a basketball court.
He does everything right on this play. He gets a good closeout contest on the shooter, he chases the loose ball down, and he draws a foul to seal the game for the Seahawks. He had 27 points in this game, and this defensive play may have been the most important thing he did all night.
First off, a windmill dunk is a windmill dunk, I have to at least mention that. Open court? Doesn't matter, it's impressive. However, the reason I saved that clip was because of the steal (which I wish you could see more of, but the clip starts right at the end of the play). White jumps the passing lane for the steal, and his speed and momentum sends him into the open court for the slam. This is istinctual stuff, effort stuff, stuff you can't teach. This is the kind of thing that makes me fall in love with a prospect, the dirty work that turns into something pretty.
Those are two examples of White grabbing an offensive rebound (something he does a lot of) and getting the second chance bucket. One resulting in a foul and one not, but both through contact. I mentioned it earlier, but White is a tenacious rebounder, both offensively and defensively. He always attacks the rim after a a shot goes up, and he boxes out like his life depends on it. He has a fantastic sense for where the ball is going to bounce off of the rim. Again, it seems almost instinctual.
So those are the biggest and most important aspects of Trazarien White's game. His offensive abilities are elite and he shows signs that they can only get better. He is a pure hustle player who gives his all on defense and while rebounding the ball. Other strengths of his game include, but are not limited to:
Not foul prone
Not turnover prone
Shows signs of being a decent playmaker
Ton of energy/always moving
As far as weaknesses are concerned he really doesn't have any glaring issues. Nothing wrong with his size profile, so I can't pick anything out there like I normally would. His weakest point on the floor is his passing, and while watching his film I saw enough to make me believe he can be an operable playmaker. Players like White, who drive at the rate he does, can figure out how to be good kickout passers. See this clip:
Perfect example of how White should pass the ball. If he did that a higher rate that's all he would need to do to be the playmaker he needs to be at the next-level.
I actually do consider Trazarien White to be a potential NBA guy straight out of college. A lot of these mid-major guys need to play some level of professional basketball in another league before they're ready for the NBA, but I think White has what it takes. He would be very raw, but his defense and hustle alone could buy him a spot in the league. Do you want an older player like him to be raw? Not necessarilly, but he could be worth a roster spot. I assume he stays for his senior year, or maybe even transfers up, but I can definitely see a path to the draft for Trazarien White.
Just wanted to throw another windmill in there.
all clips via UNCW Sports or ESPN
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