The Boston Celtics guard Derrick White attended the Colorado Buffaloes’ opening football game against North Dakota State. White attended the University of Colorado for his senior year after playing three years in Division II at the University of Colorado—Colorado Springs. He was given a warm reception from the Boulder faithful as he was brought out onto the turf and welcomed back to his alma mater with open arms, applause, and loud cheers.
Time at Colorado
In his one season with the Colorado Buffaloes, Derrick White averaged 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. This was enough to earn White 2016-17 All-Pac-12 First Team honors, as well as a spot on the 2016-17 Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, averaging 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
The team finished that season with a 19-15 record, going 8-10 in conference play, with a loss in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to Arizona. They were invited to the NIT but lost in the first round to the University of Central Florida (UCF). However, White’s success at Bolder was enough to convince the San Antonio Spurs to select him in the first-round draft pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Summer of Derrick White
The Colorado Men’s Basketball X account, @CUBuffsMBB posted a video of White on the football field, adorned in cheers, with the caption “DWhite summer.” And this summer has been an eventful one for Derrick White. Coming off one of his best career seasons with the Celtics, White was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and finished eighth in the voting for NBA Defensive Player of the Year. White averaged 15.2 points per game, the second-highest scoring season of his career, and the highest in his tenure with the Boston Celtics. He averaged 5.2 assists, again, his highest with the Celtics.
On the defensive end, White posted a career-high in blocks, averaging 1.2 a night, and tied his career-high in steals per game, with 1.0. Putting up these stats as an arguable third option on a championship-contending team even earned him some considerable All-Star hype. While White was not selected for the All-Star team, it was clear that with his success since Boston acquired him in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, the fanbase had rallied around him.
Playoff Success
This rallying cry of Bostonians only grew louder once the Celtics made the playoffs and began their quest for banner 18. In their first-round series against the Miami Heat, who had eliminated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals the year prior, Derrick White’s play was integral. In game 4, Derrick White put up 38 points off of 8/15 shooting from three. He followed that up in game 5 with 25 points, going 5/10 from three to help eliminate the Heat, winning the series 4-1.
In the Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, White had another 25-point game in game 1, shooting 7/12 from three. In the Eastern Conference Finals, White helped to seal the sweep of the Indiana Pacers with a gnarly stat line of 5 steals and 3 blocks in game 4, and a corner three ball that would clinch the series and 4-0 sweep for the Boston Celtics.
In the NBA Finals, White put up 15, 18, 16, 6, and 14 points on decent shooting percentages. It was not his strongest series of the playoff run, but that won’t matter to Celtics fans, whose love for Derrick White grew exponentially when White suffered a chipped tooth and continued to play, looking like a character out of a horror film. He celebrated the championship win and the Celtics’ 18th title, chipped tooth and all to cap off a fantastic playoff run and “DWhite summer.”
Final Thoughts
It is safe to say, that with all his recent hype and success on the court, it has been an eventful summer for Derrick White. He received cheers from Celtics fans, a Team USA Olympic appearance, and a hefty 4-year, $125.9 million contract extension. That, along with an ovation from his home state and alma mater in Colorado, has to feel good.
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