TAKE FIVE: Billy White Jr.

By Rob Miech (contact)

Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.

Billy White Jr. doesn't want to be known as a one-man show. He is regarded as one of the best prep small forwards in the nation, but he insists it isn't about him. He abhors seeing his name in headlines.

White impressed with 31 points last week, when the Gators gave Silverado its first Southeast Division loss of the season. But he credited Josh McCarver, Adrian Charbonnet, Cody Aughney and the rest of his teammates.

"He gets very angry when he reads about 'Billy White and Green Valley,' " says Gators coach Adam Patai. "He'll be visibly upset. He says, 'It says Green Valley on the scoreboard.' As far as coaching, he's about as good as they come."

The versatile 6-foot-7, 190-pound senior averages almost 20 points a game and is a deft passer. He says he enjoys that aspect of the game most, an attitude that should benefit the Gators when they start the area playoffs next week.

"I like to help my teammates out, put smiles on their faces," White says. "I want them to have good games. I don't want to be selfish."

1. Pedigree

Billy White Sr., a "Jumping Jack" when he averaged nearly 30 points a game at Western High in the late 1970s, played one season at New Mexico before finishing his career at the University of California, Riverside. "You don't know my history?" Senior says. "I'm about the third-best player to come out of Vegas. Brian Wilson (Las Vegas High) and (Michael) Spiderman Burns (Cheyenne) are the others. I see a lot of myself in Billy. He has an all-around game, like (Earvin) Magic (Johnson)."

2. Tattoo you

Junior has three of them: an angel playing hoops on his right arm, and a cross bearing his late uncle Raymond's name on his left biceps below a basketball with his own name. Raymond died before White entered the eighth grade. In the sixth, he nearly quit the game. Raymond encouraged him. "He told me to keep my head up and keep going," White said. "That's why I kept playing."

3. The thespian

A keen shot-blocker, White has worked on drawing charges, with mixed results, this season. During a recent game at Del Sol, a blocking call led to his spending most of the first half on the bench. "A little acting," he says. "Trying to get the flop. They got me on it. You have to do a little acting sometimes. If I fall early, (officials) say I wasn't hit yet. I have to do a little better job on charges."

4. Expert advice

As a sophomore, White received personal instruction from Las Vegas resident Ed O'Bannon, a fellow lefty who won Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors in 1995 when he led UCLA to a championship. O'Bannon helped perfect White's back-down maneuvers in the post. "Then you go to the middle," White says. "He said nobody could stop me when I go to my left hand. He was right."

5. Future Aztec

White signed a letter of intent to San Diego State in November. He said Southern California and coach Tim Floyd finished a close second, but he favored Aztecs coach Steve Fisher's history, especially his Fab Five days at Michigan. On its list of top players in the country, the recruiting site Rivals.com pegged White at No. 130. It also lists him as the 38th-best small forward in the nation.