John Bohnenkamp, The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa –
NORTH LIBERTY, IOWA – Aaron White opened his Iowa basketball career with a double-double, and closed with a flourish.
In between was an up-and-down season that isn’t unusual with a freshman.
White’s goal as he prepares for next season is simple – get in better physical condition, so he can be more consistent.
“Overall, I have to get in better shape than I did last year,” White said after a recent game in the Prime Time League. “There’s a reason why I didn’t have the success (at the beginning of the year) as I did at the end of the year. I wasn’t in shape, and you have to be at this level.”
White had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the season opener against Chicago State last November, and didn’t score in double figures again over a nine-game stretch. In two of those games during that stretch, White played less than 10 minutes.
By the end of the season, though, White was at his best. He had 25 points and 11 rebounds in Iowa’s win over Dayton in the first round of the NIT, then had 22 points and eight rebounds in a second-round loss at Oregon.
White finished his season averaging 11.1 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds. His 389 points for the season ranked fifth best among Iowa freshmen, and his 199 rebounds was the fourth-best total for a freshman in school history.
White said he has noticed a change in how he plays the game.
“I think I’m more comfortable in what I’m doing,” said White, a 6-foot-8 forward from Strongsville, Ohio. “Last year, (it was a) new environment, totally new pace of the game. So I was trying to do some things that weren’t really working, because it’s a different game. Now, my handle is a little tighter. I’m shooting the ball more confidently. The growing-up process has made me more comfortable in my game.”
White has posted some big numbers in the summer league at the North Liberty Community Center. He was averaging 27 points and 13 rebounds heading into Sunday’s game, before he went off for a 39-point, 16-rebound day in his team’s loss.
“He doesn’t like to lose to anyone,” said Iowa center Gabe Olaseni. “When you play against him, you always have to be aware of him, because he’s so active. He can do anything.”
White’s versatility has made him a candidate to either play the ‘3’ or the ‘4’ next season, and he knows he has to be prepared.
“When you’re playing at the ‘3’, you’re moving outside, you’re guarding quicker guys,” White said. “You’re using different parts of your body. You’ve got to be in shape, have stronger legs. When you’re playing inside at the ‘4’, you’re having to get physical in the post.
“Whether Coach wants to play me at the ‘3’ or ‘4’, it doesn’t matter because I have to be in shape to play either one.”
“Whitey is a special player,” said Iowa guard Anthony Clemmons, an incoming freshman who is White’s teammate in the PTL. “He can surprise you with so many different things. You don’t know if he’s a ‘4’, or if he’s a ‘3.’ He plays in between. He can post you up, he can shoot it. He can do a lot of different things.”
White has shown an incredible amount of composure.
“Every game’s not going to go your way,” he said. “There are going to be times in the season when you get 20 points, then you’ll have a game when you have six. You can’t get too high or too low. That’s something my parents and my mentors have told me throughout my whole basketball career. You can’t let the highs get too high, you can’t let the lows get too low. You have to keep grinding. It sounds like a cliche, but it is a grind, every season.”SClB
White said he was ready to start the grind again.
“I’m just going to play every game like I did last year,” he said. “Don’t hold anything back.”
