SPORTAS KREPSINIS

Whatever Happened To……

1995 Hoop Summit Star ALBERT WHITE

2005 Nike Hoop Summit Fact Sheet

2005 USA Team

2005 Rosters:

• USA Team •

• World Team •

USA Coaching Staff

2005 Nike Hoop Summit to be Played in Memphis

Hoop Summit History

• Q&A Time •

Hoop Summit FLASHback

It was May 13, 1995, and the very first Nike Hoop Summit was played in front of a CBS national television audience. The USA team was headlined by high school phenom Kevin Garnett who many anticipated would be making tthe then very rare leap from high school to the NBA. It was team of the best high school standouts. Some like Garnett, Stephon Marbury and Shareef Abdur-Rahim went on to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, others like Robert Traylor and Antawn Jamison went on to NBA careers. Oddly, none of those talented players finished the 1995 Hoop Summit game as the USA’s leading scorer as the Americans took an 86-77 victory over the World team. That honor belonged tto Albert White. Whatever happened to Albert White? Check it out.

He’s played for USA Basketball. He’s also played in the NCAA, CBA, USBL, and some other professional leagues overseas. Currently he plays in the KBL- the Korean Basketball League.

He wwas listed as measuring 6’5″ and weighing 210 pounds.

He hailed from Inkster High School in Michigan and was a prized recruit of the University of Michigan. His high school stats spoke clearly to his dominance – 1,352 career points and 1,100 rebounds.

USA Today (first team) and Parade Magazine (second team) both listed him as an Prep All-American in 1995. He played in the McDonald’s and Magic Johnson Roundball high school All-American games, and even tallied 11 points in both.

Albert White also boasted of international experience. He helped the U.S. capture a gold medal as a member of the 1994 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team. That U.S. squad journeyed to Argentina and returned home with an unblemished 8-0 record aand the gold medal, and White averaged a team fifth best 11.3 ppg. and 3.5 rpg. He also tallied a team best 11 made 3-point field goals, shooting 11-24 (.458) for the tourney. He poured in a team high 22 points in the USA’s lopsided 117-65 win over Canada.

Nine months later, White was selected for the 1995 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team that competed in the first Nike Hoop Summit. White led a balanced USA scoring attack as the UUnited States claimed the 86-77 victory in the inaugural Hoop Summit. Playing 21 minutes off the bench, White made 5-of-7 shots, including his only 3-point try, and added two rebounds, four assists and one steal. The U.S. effort was also aided by Jelani McCoy’s 11 points and five rebound effort, while Garnett produced a near triple-double. posting 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots. Marbury was the fourth U.S. player in double-figure scoring, recording 10 points and adding five assists and two steals.

Taking his considerable basketball talents to Ann Arbor and to the Michigan Wolverines, White in 1995-96 made his presence there felt immediately. Starting in 14 of 32 games as a freshman for a U of M team that also included Maurice Taylor, Louis Bullock, Maceo Baston, Robert Traylor and Jerod Ward, White posted solid rookie numbers, averaging 9.0 ppg. (fourth high on team), 4.7 rpg. (3rd high on team), and 1.2 apg. Playing for head coach Steve Fisher, the Maze and Blue finished 20-12 after losing 80-76 to Texa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

White’s solid play as a rookie was recognized and he was selected as the recipient of the University of Michigan’s RRudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player award at the season’s end.

But White’s promising collegiate career never finished at the University of Michigan. Instead he transferred to the University of Missouri and after sitting out one season, White returned to the court for the 1997-98 season.

Averaging 10.9 ppg. and 4.9 rpg., Mizzou finished the year 17-15 overall. The following year (1998-99), White’s final season at Missouri, he led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.3 ppg. and 8.7 rpg. Missouri finished the season 20-9 and made a NCAA Tournament appearance.

Not selected in the 1999 NBA Draft, White was drafted by Sioux Falls (5th round, 44th overall) in the ’99 CBA Draft. He played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 1999-2000, and spent part of the next season with Sioux Falls. Then, according to records, he played briefly during the summer of 2001 with the Florida Sea Dragons in the United States Basketball League (USBL).

From there, White took his roundball skills overseas and played for the Brighton Bears in England and in 30 games there, averaged 19.8 ppg., 7.6 rpg., 3.2 apg., and 1.8 bpg. Returning to the USBL in the summer of 2002, he stared for the Oklahoma SStorm and in 28 games accounted for 13.3 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 2.7 apg. and 1.1spg.

Playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ summer team in 2002, White failed to make Minnesota’s pre-season camp roster and spent 2002-03 playing for the CBA Rockford Lightning. In his 47 games as a member of the CBA Lightning, he tallied 22.0 ppg., 7.5 rpg., 3.6 apg., and 1.6 spg.

Basketball took White in 2003-04 to Italy to play for Bignami Castelmaggiore, but he was injured in pre-season and was released before ever playing in a a game there.

White ended up in Seoul, South Korea, playing in the Koren Basketball League (KBL) for Inchon Et Land Black Slamer. Taking the court 54 times, White was credtied with 26.2 ppg., 8.8 rpg., 7.5 apg., and 1.9 spg. and at the season’s conclusion, after leading ET to the KBL playoffs semifinals, White earned a spot on the Asia-Basket All-Korean KBL First Team and was named to the Asia-Basket Korean KBL All-Imports Team.

White returned in 2004-05 to again play for Inchon ET Land Black Slamer. As of January he ranked third in the KBL in scoring, averaging 25.5 ppg., and he listed fifth in the league in blocked shots, averaging 1.18

a game.

The Korean Basketball League features 10 teams. Each team consists of a maximum of 15 players including 2 foreign players, and only 12 players are allowed on the roster at one time. The KBL regular season lasts from November through the middle of March, each team plays the other nine teams six times each for a 54 game regular season. The top six finishing teams from the regular season advance to the Playoffs.

The Korean professional league has no shortage oof American players. Americans playing in the KBL in 2004-05 include Mike Maddox (Georgia Tech), who as fate would have it was a member of the 1995 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team which was qualified for the event thanks to White and his 1994 USA teammates. Also playing in the KBL is White’s former U of M teammate Jerod Ward, and others playing include Kris Lang (North Carolina), Charles Minlend (St. John’s), Aaron McGhee (Oklahoma), Nate Johnson (Louisville), Jameel WWatkins (Georgetown), Adam Chubb (Pennsylvania), and others.

2005 Nike Hoop Summit

The 8th Nike Hoop Summit will be held on Saturday, April 9, 6:30 p.m. (CT), at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. For the first time, the Nike Hoop Summit will also iinclude a preliminary game showcasing the top prep players from the Memphis area. The Memphis All-Star Classic will tip off at 4 p.m. (CT). The doubleheader will be played at the FedExForum, home of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies, and the Hoop Summit will be televised nationally by Fox Sports.

Tickets are on sale now, with reserved lower bowl seats priced at $20 and $10. Seats in the second row at courtside are $40, with front row courtside seats $75. Tickets can be purchased at the FedExForum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 901-525-1515.