White: From manager to player for Floyd
Floyd's Anthony White drives against Brentwood's Joshua Crooms in the first half. (Jan. 17, 2012) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
When Anthony White was a sixth-grader, he was a manager for the Floyd varsity boys basketball team. "I used to watch the older kids play. I'd do drills with them and try to emulate what they did," White recalled.
Turns out, White didn't just copy. He also faxed, scanned and printed, turning himself into a true all-in-one product who fills up a boxscore like few players on Long Island. "My goal was to develop all my skills so that someday I'd be on the varsity and be a big player for them," White said.
Consider that goal fully realized. White, a returning Newsday first-team All-Long Island player, has the Colonials in the thick of the race for the Suffolk League I title and makes them legitimate contenders for a wide-open Class AA crown.
In Floyd's first 10 games, the 6-3 senior swingman has averaged 18.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 3.9 steals. He's also a three-point threat and the team's most reliable ballhandler against pressure defenses.
"From a coach's standpoint, when he graduates, I'll miss his Mr. Fix-It ability," veteran Floyd coach Bob Hodgson said. "If we have a problem doing something, let Anthony do it. I don't care how many kids you've been around. For them to grasp what needs to be done mentally and then physically to be able to carry it out is a rarity. He is one of those rarities. I had one of those before."
Hodgson was referring to his son Rob, the third-leading scorer in Long Island history with 2,532 points. He played at Floyd from 1989-94, starred at Rutgers and now coaches the Colonials' junior varsity. "In my coaching career, to have another player of that sort is really special," Hodgson said.
Colleges noticed that varied skill set, too. Several schools recruited White, who accepted a full scholarship to St. Francis (Brooklyn), a Division I school that plays in the Northeast Conference. "I like how they run the offense. A lot of pick-and-rolls," White said. "They see me as a guard. If I work hard over the summer, I should get a lot of minutes next year."
Location, as much as playing time, was a factor in White's college decision. With a big smile, he acknowledged, "I kind of wanted to stay close to home so my mom [Valerie White] could see me play. She's a big fan. She comes to all my games with my uncle . It's very comforting to have that support. They push me to do well in school and on the court."
Hodgson said White has always been what coaches call a "character kid." "He's popular across the board with the different types of kids we have here at this school," Hodgson said. "He was on the homecoming court. He's not just in one clique. He's always pleasant and has time for everybody."
White had to spend a lot of time honing his game because he never had the luxury of concentrating on just one aspect. "It's all about increments of improvement," Hodgson said. "In ninth grade we used him as a 4-5 man because he could spread out with those long arms and could defend.
"In 10th grade, he was an inside-out player," Hodgson continued. "We had him step out and take threes and handle the ball on occasion. In 11th grade, we made him an outside-in player, not necessarily a guard. We wanted to capitalize on his inside skills and at the same time give him the freedom to grab a rebound and lead the fast break. This year, we've used him exclusively as a guard, the way he'll be used in college. He's gone up another rung on the ladder."
White is glad he can stop climbing for the moment to enjoy his senior year. "All the pressure is off now," he said of making his college choice. "I can just focus on our goal of making the playoffs, winning our league and maybe making it to Glens Falls."
A trip upstate would bring attention to a program that White admitted gets "overlooked" by the success of the football team, which won its fourth Long Island championship in November. "The last couple of years, the kids see we're doing pretty well and now we've got more people coming to our games," White said. "It feels good and I'm proud of that."
