One
of Mike "SHOTMAN" Lanza's prized pupils is James White,
a former football and basketball standout at Piscataway High School,
who is now attending Southern Connecticut State University to star
on the gridiron there. While his better sport is football, White is
not a bad basketball player either. An All Diaper Dandy selection
by GMC Hoops during the 2004-05 season, James White led a Piscataway
Chiefs varsity basketball team that went 4-20 the in 2005-06 to a
Greater Middlesex
Conference Tournament Championship in 2006-07.
In his
four seasons at Piscataway, White, an outstanding defensive player
as well, helped the Chiefs compile an overall record of 58-46, three
GMCT Elite
Eight appearances, two GMCT
Final Four appearances, a GMCT title, a North
Jersey Section 2 Group IV Championship, and a Group IV state final
appearance. Highly touted early on in his career, White took Piscataway
to heights that it had not seen since the days of John
Celestand, Justin Bailey, and Dewey Ferguson during the 1993-94
season when the Chiefs won their last
Group IV State title.
In 2007-08,
White was one of the top
three point shooters in games covererd by the GMC
Hoops web site. In six games that stats were taken, White was
8 of 21 from three point range for 38.1 percent. The solidly built
point guard had two games in particular where he stood out very well.
Against South
Brunswick, White went 6 of 14 overall from the floor including
4 of 7 from three point range for 17
points as well as 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Most importantly
though, three of his trifectas came at a critical juncture early in
the fourth quarter to help the Chiefs get some much needed breathing
room.
The other
solid effort came against
Watchung Hills, where White, who tends to be known more for his
stingy defense, compiled a season high 18 points on six field goals
including three treys while also adding three foul shots. See the
video highlights from
some of his performance. In 2007-08, White played well in games covered
by GMC Hoops. In seven games, White made 27 of 65 shots overall from
the field for 41.5 percent including his 8 of 21 from downtown. He
also sank 16 of 22 free throws for 72.7 percentage, and totaled 78
points for an average of 11.1 points per game along with 3.9 rebounds
per game, 1.4 assists per game, 1.7 steals per game, and 0.5 charges
per game.
White
also stood out in the classroom. He was selected as a recipient of
the Bill Denny Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete
Award, and was also a nominee for the United States Achievement Academy
National Football Award.
Read
more about this special basketball player and person in this article
courtesy of Greg Machos of GMC Hoops.
