U recruit rebounding from adversity

The shoulder-width tattoo recently emblazoned on Royce White's arm illustrates his passion. It's a drawing of a lion devouring a basketball player. White, a senior forward at Hopkins, said, "That speaks for itself."

As does his game.

Many recruiting analysts say the 6-7, 210-pound White is one of the best high school basketball players in the country, with enough talent and potential to make it to the NBA. Multiple recruiting services have listed White as one of the top 25 players in the nation.

White is the centerpiece of the Gophers' early signing class that also includes California point guard Justin Cobbs, former Henry Sibley and St. Bernard's star and JC transfer Trevor Mbakwe and Cooper's Rodney Williams. The signees figure to be one of the nation's top-ranked recruiting classes.

But despite White's obvious talent, there are plenty of question marks associated with his future.

Are the Gophers getting a franchise player, or a one-and-done star headed for the pros? Or -- as some people close to him fear -- will he be a player who fails to realize his potential and is remembered as just another playground legend?

White was dismissed from DeLaSalle High School last year for what he has admitted was an academic mistake. He's earned a reputation as a player whose frustrations often get the best of him, resulting in temper outbursts and technical fouls. And he admits he's still learning to balance the sometimes conflicting opinions he gets from influential family members and mentors.

"I think Royce can be as good as Royce wants to be," said Rene Pulley, the head of Howard Pulley basketball, White's summer AAU program. "He's one of the few kids that is very fortunate to where his own destiny is actually in his own hands."

At least on the court. The advice he received after being dismissed from DeLaSalle is reflective of the wide-ranging input White receives from those close to him. His grandfather, Frank, had concerns about the way he'd adjust to a team with seven potential Division I recruits. His mother, Becky, said she supported his decision, and moved her family to the Hopkins district. Others told him he'd have the best chance to succeed if he left the state and attended a prep school for a year.

White admits it's challenging to weigh opinions within such a large support system -- one that includes grandparents, parents, his godmother, other relatives and coaches. He said he's always limited his circle to those he trusts and tries to avoid those who feed his ego because, he says, "most people think someone that's 6-8 and plays basketball" will make it to the NBA.

And yet White's own words often reflect an inherent uncertainty about his future. One minute, he talks about getting his education and waiting for Gophers coach Tubby Smith to tell him if and when he's ready for the NBA.

"I'm just going to do whatever coach Smith feels I need to do for him ... I'll let him decide [about the NBA]," White said.

Smith can't comment about recruits until they actually sign.

The next minute, however, White acknowledges some of the pressure he feels about making it to that level.

"The NBA is never going to be out of my mind," he said. "It can't be. Coming from where I come from, I'm not coming from a family that has a lot of money ... we take care of each other. I would love to be able to play in the NBA ... that's my goal in life."

His actions, too, are often confounding. He scored higher than the state's average composite ACT score of 22.6. He said he shouldn't have any problems getting admitted to Minnesota if he gets his work done at Hopkins during his senior season. So why did he get kicked out of DeLaSalle for making an academic mistake?

"I can't downplay it, because if I downplay it, that's going to be making excuses and real men don't make excuses," he said. "What happened was I slipped up and didn't use the common sense I had. That was a hard part of my life."

Hopkins coach Ken Novak said he never saw White play at DeLaSalle, and feels "a little sorry" for his newest star.

"It seems like everybody's coming at him with a microscope, and he's a 17-year-old kid," Novak said. "I think it's fair to say he's got some work to do. ... Give him a chance, anyway."

White's mother says she has seen a growth in maturity since his dismissal from DeLaSalle. But the temper outbursts on the court have not stopped. He got kicked out of a Howard Pulley game this summer after throwing a ball at future teammate and current Gophers forward Damian Johnson.

White said he and Johnson have made up, and says people who have witnessed the outbursts have misperceptions about him.

"I think if anything, me having a bad attitude is mistaken for me being hungry," he said. "I'm really hungry as a basketball player. As a younger basketball player, I wasn't always the best, I wasn't always one of the biggest guys, one of the better players ... that's one thing [DeLaSalle] coach [Dave] Thorson taught me is to just be hungry. That's what I am."

Becky White says she just wants her son to remain humble, regardless of where his talent takes him in the coming years.

"I'm confident he'll rise to the occasion," she said.

If he does, White believes he'll take the Gophers with him.

"I want to make a national title run next year," White said. "That's how I feel about it. I don't take any prisoners. We step on the court with whoever it [might] be: Louisville, Michigan State ... I'm trying to go at them full steam, and we're going to beat them, and we're going to win a national title. That's what my goal is."