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Pistons love Terrico White's athleticism
The first two words out of Pistons vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry’s mouth when describing second-round pick Terrico White were: Very athletic.
The measurements from the NBA Draft combine back up Perry’s assessment. Terrico had the top vertical (30 inches), the fifth fastest sprint and the lowest body fat percentage (3.7 percent) at the combine.
“We’ll see what he does in the summer league then we’ll get an opportunity to watch him in training camp,” Perry said. “I know one thing, he’s an NBA caliber athlete. He’ll be able to compete athletically. How quickly he picks up on the offensive system and those types of things, learns the defensive schemes. I think that will play a big role in how quickly he is able to get on the court.”
The 6-foot-5 White played both guard positions at Mississippi and averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists as a sophomore last season.
“I think he’s a versatile guard,” Perry said. “He’s going to be able to give us a guy that can play both guard positions. It will be good to look at him this summer, being able to play a little point and two. We really like (him), especially where we were able to draft him. He was a guy that was viewed by many to go late in the first round. It was great to be able to get a guy like that at that pick.”
Perry is also optimistic White will be able to defend at the NBA level.
“Defensively, he’s got all the potential to be a good, sound defender,” Perry said. “He was a high school quarterback. I always like those two sport guys. We think he’s got a good opportunity and good upside to become a good defender in this league.”
The Pistons drafting White came as a surprise to some considering Detroit’s depth at the guard position. There were several big man still on the board, including Tulsa’s Jerome Jordan, Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal and Oklahoma’s Tiny Gallon. But Perry and the Pistons believed White’s potential outweighed the potential of any of the big men.
“Not as much as this kid did,” Perry said when asked if Detroit was tempted by any of the big men. “You get to a point in the draft where you say, ‘Is this guy really still on the board?’ when you really had him projected going in the first round so you have to take a stab at that type of talent at that point. We were happy we were able to do so.”
White was a member of the gold-medal winning United States under 19 national team in the FIBA World Championship in 2009.
The measurements from the NBA Draft combine back up Perry’s assessment. Terrico had the top vertical (30 inches), the fifth fastest sprint and the lowest body fat percentage (3.7 percent) at the combine.
“We’ll see what he does in the summer league then we’ll get an opportunity to watch him in training camp,” Perry said. “I know one thing, he’s an NBA caliber athlete. He’ll be able to compete athletically. How quickly he picks up on the offensive system and those types of things, learns the defensive schemes. I think that will play a big role in how quickly he is able to get on the court.”
The 6-foot-5 White played both guard positions at Mississippi and averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists as a sophomore last season.
“I think he’s a versatile guard,” Perry said. “He’s going to be able to give us a guy that can play both guard positions. It will be good to look at him this summer, being able to play a little point and two. We really like (him), especially where we were able to draft him. He was a guy that was viewed by many to go late in the first round. It was great to be able to get a guy like that at that pick.”
Perry is also optimistic White will be able to defend at the NBA level.
“Defensively, he’s got all the potential to be a good, sound defender,” Perry said. “He was a high school quarterback. I always like those two sport guys. We think he’s got a good opportunity and good upside to become a good defender in this league.”
The Pistons drafting White came as a surprise to some considering Detroit’s depth at the guard position. There were several big man still on the board, including Tulsa’s Jerome Jordan, Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal and Oklahoma’s Tiny Gallon. But Perry and the Pistons believed White’s potential outweighed the potential of any of the big men.
“Not as much as this kid did,” Perry said when asked if Detroit was tempted by any of the big men. “You get to a point in the draft where you say, ‘Is this guy really still on the board?’ when you really had him projected going in the first round so you have to take a stab at that type of talent at that point. We were happy we were able to do so.”
White was a member of the gold-medal winning United States under 19 national team in the FIBA World Championship in 2009.
posted by Dave Pemberton at
1:16 AM
1 Comments:
"The 6-foot-9 White played both guard positions at Mississippi"
As much I wish he was 6'9" he is actually 6'5"
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