Boyle’s transfers
look at the five scholarship transfer players that Colorado has had, or will have, since Tad Boyle took over as head coach before the 2010-11 season:
Jeremy Adams (2011-13): A guard who came from Navarro JC in Texas, Adams played two seasons at CU, appearing in 61 games (one start), averaging 2.4 points per game.
Carlon Brown (2010-12): A guard from Utah, Brown redshirted the 2010-11 season and, as a fifth-year senior in 2011-12, led CU in scoring (12.6 points per game) and was the driving force behind the Buffs’ 2012 Pac-12 Tournament title team.
Sabatino Chen (2010-13): A guard from Denver, Chen redshirted in 2010-11 and played two seasons with CU. He appeared in 68 games, including 20 as a starter during the 2012-13 season. Averaged just 3.2 points, but was viewed as a leader and a “glue” player during his time in Boulder.
Josh Fortune (2014-present): A guard from Providence, Fortune recently completed his redshirt season. Beginning next season, he has two years to play for the Buffs.
Derrick White (2015-present): Announced on Sunday that he will transfer to CU from Colorado-Colorado Springs. He will sit out the 2015-16 season and play in 2016-17.
Even as he dominated in Division II, Derrick White couldn’t help but wonder what he could do against better competition.
Now, White won’t have to wonder.
On Sunday, White officially became a member of the Colorado men’s basketball team after spending the past three years at UC-Colorado Springs.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I’m ready for the challenge.”
A two-time All-American at UCCS, White, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound combo guard, was the second-leading scorer in Division II this past season, posting 25.8 points per game.
He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and was 12th in Division II in blocked shots (68). He set the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference single-season records for points (851) and assists (171).
“I’ve always said there are a handful of Division II players that could easily be playing in Division I at a high level, and he’s one of them,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “He’s plenty good enough to compete for championships in the Pac-12.”
Coming out of Parker’s Legend High School in 2012, White admits he probably wasn’t ready to do that, at least physically. He was only 6-foot-2 and about 160 pounds during his senior year at Legend.
“With the size that I had, I probably wasn’t the ideal D-I player, but I felt I had the skill and the IQ to play at this level,” he said.
Division I schools didn’t even look at him. In fact, very few Division II schools gave him a look. UCCS took a chance, though, and in three seasons, he became the Mountain Lions’ all-time leader in points (1,912) and assists (343). He’s fourth in rebounding (513).
White, who grew to 6-5 during the summer after high school, said he played his career at UCCS with a chip on his shoulder. He said he wore No. 14 with the Mountain Lions “because there’s 14 teams in the RMAC and I wanted to make each one of them pay for not recruiting me.”
The more he tasted success, the more White wondered what he could do in Division I. After leading UCCS to a program-best 27-6 record this past season, he told coach Jeff Culver he wanted to explore his options in Division I.
CU was one of several schools, including some from the Mountain West Conference, to talk to White, who visited the Boulder campus on Friday.
“I really liked what they had to say and what they were telling me,” White said.
Boyle, who had one scholarship to give, loved what he saw out of White, despite the fact that White has to sit out this next season because of the NCAA transfer rule. He will have one season of eligibility at CU.
“With that last scholarship, the bottom line is you’re going to get the best player you can get,” Boyle said. “Without a doubt, Derrick White was the best player we could get.”
Boyle believes White will make the Buffs better in practice, just as Carlon Brown did in 2010-11 while sitting out after transferring from Utah.
“Derrick is going to help our practices,” Boyle said. “He’s going to help guys like Josh Fortune and Tre’Shaun Fletcher and George King, and they’re going to help him.”
Boyle would love to see White follow in Brown’s footsteps. During his one season as a Buff, in 2011-12, Brown led CU to the Pac-12 Tournament title and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“(Brown) was ready step in the next year and I think Derrick will be able to do the same,” Boyle said.
White’s only hesitation in making the move to CU was the team he is leaving behind.
“It was tough because I have some of my best friends down here and coach Culver and the coaching staff down here gave me an opportunity to play that not many coaches gave me,” he said. “That was tough in that aspect.”
White said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity of “playing tougher competition and going against the people in the Pac-12. I’ll be a great challenge for me.”
As good as White was at UCCS, there is room for improvement.
Boyle and White both mentioned the same three target areas for White’s improvement: His defense, his 3-point shooting, and his body. White said he would like to add 10-15 pounds of muscle in the next year.
“(Sitting out this next season) is going to be difficult because I’m a competitor and I want to play,” he said, “but it’ll just give me a chance to continue to improve, get a little bigger and stronger and adjust to the Pac-12.”
As a fifth-year senior in 2016-17, White is projected to be a part of a veteran backcourt that should include fifth-year senior Josh Fortune, fourth-year junior George King, true junior Dominique Collier.
After finishing the current semester at UCCS, White is expected to enroll at CU in June and spend the summer in Boulder with his new teammates.
Brian Howell: howellb@dailycamera.com, on Twitter: @BrianHowell33.
