Hoopraker

An increasing rarity in this mercenary age when many of the best players use college as little more than stats’ aggrandizing NBA auditions, D.J. White is a throwback to those sepia-colored days of yore when players chose programs out of loyalty, stayed out of love for game and team, and by their junior and senior seasons evolved into formidable, championship-caliber leaders.

With a respectful nod to Shan Foster, another fourth year of national merit, D.J. White is turning in the finest senior season in the land. Along with frosh man-child Eric Gordon, White has led the Hoosiers through the sound and fury of the Kelvin Sampson tempest to a 25-6 mark and a 14-4, 3rd place finish in the Big Ten.

And it is White, the heart and soul of this year’s Indiana team, who will largely determine if the Hoosiers are able to coalesce around what is his third coach in four seasons and become an Indiana team worthy of the school’s gilded March tradition.

A Hoosier Good And True

In a career marred by injury, the resignation of fellow Alabaman Mike Davis who recruited him to Bloomington, and the recent crash and burn of the coach who had inspired him to return to campus and elevate his game, White has persevered into a Hoosier good and true.

Given the trials of his sophomore season in which he played in only five games due to a recurring foot fracture and watched as Davis was driven to the wall by dwindling results and an unforgiving fan base, it would’ve been understandable if White had traded in his candystripes and joined Davis and best friend Robert Vaden for a fresh start in Birmingham.

Instead, demonstrating a loyalty to program that is as admirable as it is increasingly exotic, White stayed with his school of first choosing. After a junior year defined by solid, if not always inspired play - excused perhaps by the return from injury and the adjustment to Sampson’s physically demanding methodologies - White has developed into one of the country’s preeminent double-double producers and a proud heir to the Hoosier tradition of tough, relentless frontcourters.

More Than A Mere Tangent

While the national media have already framed the player of the year debate as a two-person battle between Michael Beasley and Tyler Hansbrough, White should be more than a mere tangent in the discussion. With all due respect to Beasley, a spectacularly gifted player who will make one NBA general manager very happy in June, White’s nineteen double-doubles, overall leadership, and better team results give him the edge over the freshman.

Unlike Beasley whose Kansas State team is little more than an enablement device for his professional value maximization, White (and Hansbrough) are producing within team oriented systems that depress their overall numbers. When you consider that Frank Martin’s offense is Beasley-centric to the tune of 18 shots per game (versus 13.5 and 10.2 for Hansbrough and White respectively), one gets some measure of this fact. Beasley’s 26 double-doubles and overall numbers are impressively gaudy, but are mitigated by the degree to which he is, like Kevin Durant last year, getting an NBA-like green light.

Though Hansbrough is a substantive, deserving player of the year nominee and also should be commended for his commitment to his program and the college game, White’s 60% field goal percentage (versus 54% for Hansbrough and Beasley) and potent work on the defensive end puts him right into the discussion. And though it is leaning into gale force, partisan winds, Hansbrough and Beasley have benefited from playing in conferences that go, at best, only three deep.

White, meanwhile, has been doing nightly battle in a Big Ten that has the most teams in the top 25 (four) and will likely place five teams into the Dance. Despite continued attempts to diminish its reputation, the conference continues to equal if not exceed the other power conferences as far as both poll representation and overall depth. There is a reason the Big Ten has placed the most teams in the Final Four of any conference (nine in nine years).

Saluting The Big Ten’s Senior Citizens

Whatever the degree of national recognition, White is reaping the rewards of his decision to return and the work ethic that has made his a senior year to remember. For several other Big Ten seniors, this March and, if they are blessed with good Dance cards, Aprils, will contain their final days of college basketball. To their dedication, perseverance, and acknowledging the degree to which a Division I scholarship basketball is a rare summit in itself, Hoopraker salutes them.

Illinois

Chris Hicks: former student athletic trainer turned walk-on

Shaun Pruitt: yeoman numbers throughout a challenging season

Brian Randle: injuries marred what was a virtuoso talent

Indiana

Adam Ahlfeld: walk-on, son of 1972-75 Hoosier Steve Ahlfeld

Lance Stemler: tough competitor, dangerous perimeter shooter

D.J. White: see above, consensus Big Ten player of the year

Mike White: Hoosiers need his continued intangibles and effort

Iowa

Justin Johnson: idled under Alford’s neglect, potent marksman for Lickliter

Kurt Looby: relative newcomer to the U.S. and Naismith’s game, long defender

Seth Gorney: again, improved under Lickliter, some strong conference showings

Michigan

Ron Coleman: reliable, heavy minutes for four years

Michigan State

Drew Neitzel: Academic All-American 2008, Spartan heart and soul for four stellar years, Final Four bookends?

Drew Naymick: another well-taught Izzo big man, opportunistic scorer from 15 feet in, great shot blocker

Minnesota

Dan Coleman: freakishly gifted, explosive athlete, ceiling-setter for Gophers

Lawrence McKenzie: slasher/scorer can be a difference maker

Ryan Saunders: injury plagued final seasons, heir to pop’s coaching legacy

Spencer Tollackson: deceptively crafty, multi-skilled big man, theater major

Northwestern

Tonjua Jones: walk-on from football team notches another varsity letter

Jason Okrzesik: Rice transfer maximized under Carmody

Ohio State

Jamar Butler: Jim O’Brien recruit, arguably the league’s best point guard

Othello Hunter: super athlete, plays hard, often a momentum-changer

Matt Terwilliger: adapted well to Matta’s perimeter focus

Penn State

Geary Claxton: The Tweener That Roared, one of the conference’s most impressive players

Mike Walker: another dangerous shooter, 17 points in win over Virginia Tech

Brandon Hassell: stepped into increased minutes for DeChellis, solid rebounder

PurdueTarrance Crump: another lethal role-player for Painter

Wisconsin

Brian Butch: integral to the Big Ten champs success, huge developmental strides under Bo

Tanner Bronson: future member of Bo Ryan coaching tree

Michael Flowers: does everything Bo wants on both ends, gamer extraordinaire, more big games in March and April?

Greg Steimsma: yet another superb testament to why big men continue to flock to Madison

Posted by DJ Elsass on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 7:21 am.