Posted: Feb 10, 2017
Andrew Longeteig
Tyler White, Great Bay CC’s 5-foot-9 point guard, admits he’s an introvert.
“Off the court, I just sit back and don’t say much,” said White, the Herons’ leading scorer at nearly 25 points per game.
Once he steps onto the hardwood, however, he’s the polar opposite.
“On the basketball court, I’m the most talkative one on the team,” he said.
His coach, Sean Young, agrees.
“Tyler’s leadership is unmatched,” Young said. “He controls our offense and keeps our team calm.”
As the Yankee Small College Conference’s second-leading scorer, he particularly poses problems for opponents. So far this season, he’s shot 38 percent from 3-point range, 43 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the foul line.
And he loves coming through in the clutch. His most memorable moment this year was hitting a 3-pointer to help seal a 138-133 overtime win at Paul Smith College.
Simple style
Growing up in Baltimore, he describes his playing style as “city smooth” and straightforward.
“I don’t do a lot of moves,” said White, whose favorite pro player is Allen Iverson. “When I want to get to the basket, I just try to run past people. I try to get a little bit of space so I can get my shot off.”
His path to Great Bay CC wasn’t exactly direct. After graduating from Perry Hall High School in Baltimore in 2015, he attended school and played basketball last year at Central Maine CC.
It wasn’t the perfect fit for White, so he contacted Young to see if Great Bay would be a better situation for his free-flowing playing style.
“I came down to visit and loved it,” White said. “It really felt like home.”
Home away from home
It’s a different world from his Baltimore upbringing, which he said was tough at times.
“They’re very different scenes -- it’s easy to fall into the wrong stuff in Baltimore,” said White, a sophomore. “It was good to get away and come to New Hampshire. It’s a nice area and easy to adjust here.”
What’s ahead
It’s hard to say exactly what the future will hold for White. He hopes to attract scholarship offers from Division I or II schools, or he may return to Great Bay next year.
“’If Tyler comes back to GBCC he’ll set records that will not be broken for years,” Young said. “If he goes to another college, Tyler will instantly step in and be the focal point of the offense.”
Once his playing career is over, White, a business major, would like to coach basketball at the collegiate level.
“Tyler is one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met,” Young said. “I think basketball will provide him with a lot of opportunities down the road.”