The career-high 36 points for Coby White definitely flashed.
Just not for everyone.
Fellow Bulls guard Garrett Temple was fixated on several other numbers in White’s Wednesday night stat line from Sacramento.
“I think the biggest thing with him honestly, besides the scoring, he had zero turnovers in 40 minutes, and I think this is the biggest thing with seven assists, so not like he was shooting everything,’’ Temple said. “[White] was sharing the ball, running this team, making timely baskets, big baskets, only shot nine threes, so he attacked the rim.
“He played really, really big for us, and we are going to continue to have to have him play big for us to win games. I can’t say enough about him. His mentality, 10 rebounds [Tuesday] night so he’s getting dirty, he fights on defense as well as much as he can.’’
Temple is obviously a big fan, and that’s nice.
What matters, however, is what does coach Billy Donovan and the front office think about White’s progress, and more specifically, his progress as a starting point guard.
The White storyline has been a hot topic since the abbreviated training camp, and don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Point guards mean a lot to the Donovan offense, and the bar is set high considering he coached Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, and then Chris Paul last season.
Now he has White.
A second-year raw talent, who came out of North Carolina more combo guard than true point guard.
Former coach Jim Boylen couldn’t unlock what was asked of White, and now it’s Donovan’s turn.
So Billy, is White a point guard?
“I think he’s young,’’ Donovan said to that question. “He’s in his second year. I told him this: He got to this level because of what he can do scoring. And if you ask him what he really wants to become, he’ll tell you he wants to become a really point guard. So there are going to have to be some things that he’s going to have to go through a little bit, right?
“I think it’s going to be a work in progress with him. He’s always had a mentality of looking to score and be aggressive. It’s OK to be aggressive. But a lot of times as a point guard, you have to understand there are four other people that are relying on you organizing things, And obviously, I try to help him from the bench. And we’ve had really good discussions and really good film sessions together. And I want him to be aggressive. I want him to be who he is. I told him he should evaluate his job based on what kind of shots we are getting as team, not maybe how well he is scoring.’’
A lot there from Donovan? Absolutely. But what he’s asking from White is a lot. The bar is set high and they want him to reach for it. Then they can give a fair assessment of what they see White as moving forward, and continue building accordingly.
Temple’s at least made his mind up.
“Lovin’ it man, loving it,’’ Temple said of where White is. “I was just lifting with him after the [Kings] game. Know what I’m saying? This guy plays 40 minutes, and after a back-to-back is lifting weights as well.’’
