When Sterling Manley swiped at Coby White’s right hand in an attempt to poke the ball away, it was too late. The first-year had already crossed over to his left and was headed to the basket with a full head of steam.
White planted his left foot in the center of the paint, cuffed the ball in his right hand and rose up while graduate forward Cameron Johnson met him at the rim.
The 6-foot-5-inch guard almost put Johnson on a poster in the men’s basketball team’s scrimmage at Late Night with Roy on Friday night.
“Yeah, but he didn’t,” Johnson quickly said about the near-dunk. “I think he expected to get up a little bit higher. I expected him to get up a little higher, too.”
Johnson and the White team fell to the Blue team 36-34, but he spoke confidently about stopping White’s one-handed dunk attempt. Though White’s missed throwdown was one of his nine missed field goal attempts, the trio of first-years had a nice welcome party at the Smith Center.
From the moment they stepped onto the Roy Williams Court during player introductions, it was obvious Nassir Little, Rechon “Leaky” Black and White all enjoy the big stage.
Little looked the most comfortable of the three. The 6-foot-6-inch forward tied Manley with a team-leading nine points on the White squad. He also had the dunk of the night. Little caught a pass at the right wing and blew by guard Andrew Platek on his way to the goal. He took two hard dribbles, collected himself and jumped off two feet to flush a two-handed jam as the crowd let out a collective ‘awe.’
“You could see his face light up a little bit,” Johnson said. “He’s like, ‘Yeah. This is what it feels like.’ So, I’m happy for him. He’ll have a lot more of those come this season.”
Black only scored two points — on a mid-range bank shot — in the scrimmage. But the Concord, N.C. native showed fans why head coach Roy Williams said he’s as versatile a player as he has ever coached. The 6-foot-7-inch first-year flashed his guard-like handles in the skills competition.
White and Black combined for just 1-11 of the shooting, but they both demonstrated they could push the ball up the floor and play fast. Even with four guards returning from last year’s team — senior Kenny Williams, juniors Seventh Woods and Brandon Robinson and sophomore Platek — White and Black could play significant minutes this season.
