Derrick White unfazed by chatter around his Team USA selection: “He goes and controls what he can control”

For a few weeks now, Derrick White has recognized he was a possible candidate to switch Kawhi Leonard on the US Olympic basketball crew if he wasn’t wholesome sufficient to play.

However with Staff USA a number of days into coaching camp, and Leonard reportedly feeling good and playing well, he not anticipated the decision to return.

So, as Staff USA started coaching camp in Las Vegas, Derrick White and his father, Richard, have been busy making ready for the annual Derrick White Basketball Academy, a week-long basketball camp held for teenagers in Parker, Colorado.

“A month in the past, they mentioned that if Kawhi was unable to play, he’d be on the shortlist to be referred to as up as a alternative,” Richard White instructed CelticsWeblog in an unique interview. “Then, when Kawhi confirmed up at camp, he type of thought like ‘this was by no means going to occur.’”

However, on Tuesday, seemingly out of nowhere, the Clippers and USA Basketball collectively determined that Leonard would sit out of the Olympics to arrange for the NBA season.

In a flash, the previous Division II participant who was barely recruited out of highschool grew to become the twelfth addition to one of the star-studded rosters in basketball historical past.

Derrick received the decision late Tuesday night time, however insisted on going to his children’ camp the subsequent day – it was movie day, in spite of everything. He wasn’t going to overlook it.

​”Wednesday’s the day they do the ‘chop speak’, the place he breaks down like 12 to fifteen minutes of movie,” Richard mentioned. “He goes and tells them what goes into every particular person play — not simply the highlights. A few of the youthful children just like the dunks and stuff, however he breaks down the way you play protection, what you have to do on the defensive finish to by no means take performs off.”

It’s not Derrick White’s first rodeo with the nationwide crew. He beforehand repped Staff USA on the FIBA World Cup in 2019, alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Good, amongst others. That crew completed with a 6-2 report and got here in seventh place, and White – nonetheless a Spur on the time – got here off the bench. He averaged 5.9 factors, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals in 15.5 minutes, and shot 46.3% from the sphere.

“It was fairly thrilling when he received referred to as as much as play for FIBA in 2019, so that is simply means excessive, to play for the Olympics,” Richard White mentioned. “To placed on the USA jersey may be very thrilling.”

Derrick White’s choice to the Olympic roster rapidly grew to become a nationwide debate

Since White was introduced as the ultimate addition for Staff USA, there’s been nationwide debate concerning whether or not he deserved the final spot. He’s the one member of the crew who has by no means been named an All-Star, and a number of other star gamers, most notably his Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown, weren’t named to the crew.

Quickly after the choice was made public, Brown turned to Twitter to seemingly insinuate that his historical past calling out Nike – which is carefully intertwined with USA Basketball – saved him off the roster.

Brown’s relationship with Nike is a whole other, complicated story – and it’s unclear whether or not the choice to maintain him off the roster has to do with his history of social activism. When requested about his exclusion from the roster on Thursday night time on the ESPYs, Brown declined to elaborate.

“Sooner or later I’ll share my story,” he mentioned. “Individuals don’t have all the knowledge on the earth that they want to know.”

Grant Hill, who serves because the managing director of USA Basketball, denied hypothesis that Brown could be held out due his relationship with Nike.

“You need to construct a crew,” Hill mentioned. “And one of many hardest issues is leaving folks off the roster that I’m a fan of, that I sit up for watching all through the season, all through the playoffs. Guys who’ve been Finals MVP, guys who’ve been part of this system, guys who’ve received gold medals. Guys who I respect, admire and revel in watching.”

On a crew inundated with stars and score-first gamers — like Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Devin Booker — Derrick’s addition could possibly be simply what’s lacking.

“They’re on the lookout for particular ability units and stuff,” Richard mentioned. “He was on the record, and he simply narrowly missed out being on the unique record.”

Whether or not Derrick deserved has turn out to be an more and more common speak present dialogue. However, in keeping with his father, he’s not fazed by the discourse.

“There’s at all times going to be some type of chatter or buzz about one thing,” Richard mentioned. “This entire 12 months, there was at all times stuff being mentioned. He goes and he controls what he can management.”

Now, Derrick White is en path to the United Arab Emirates

This morning, Richard drove his son to the airport, the place he’d board a flight to Abu Dhabi and meet up the remainder of his USA teammates.

“I simply gotta do what I gotta do,” Derrick instructed his father within the automotive journey. “Simply be true to myself.”

Richard and his spouse plan on becoming a member of the crew in Paris sooner or later this summer time: “We received a late begin, however we’re attempting to determine methods to get there.”

In keeping with Richard, Derrick has a superb sense of what his position shall be on Staff USA.

“They’ve received it scripted out,” Richard mentioned. “They despatched him protection and the offensive recreation plan, and so they instructed him particularly what position and when he’s going to play, and that type of stuff. It’s all type of equipped and in place.”

Whereas White is becoming a member of the crew late, he’ll be greeted by a number of acquainted faces, particularly Jayson Tatum and Jrue Vacation, with whom he simply received an NBA Championship.

“All people is aware of everyone, so there’s no actual surprises,” Richard mentioned. “It’s type of fascinating to see the completely different relationship bonds that construct.”

He’ll even be joined by a myriad of all-time greats who he’s by no means been teammates with, similar to Lebron James, who praised White for his “poise, his skill to protect, his skill to shoot the ball.”

White is recent off of the perfect season of his profession; he averaged 15.2 factors, 5.2 assists, and 4.2 rebounds, whereas capturing 39.6% from three. Within the playoffs, his scoring numbers improved even additional, as he averaged 16.7 factors on 40.4% from three.

“Simply bringing in one other championship DNA man, it’s nice,” James mentioned.

An Olympic Gold medal may cap off an unimaginable summer time for Derrick White – one which’s already included an NBA Championship and a four-year, $129.5 million contract extension.

“It will be enormous,” Richard White mentioned. “It will type of full the 12 months – profitable an NBA championship after which getting a gold medal on high of that. That might be a superb double-dip.”