NBL: Melbourne United signs Zion Williamson’s college captain Jack White

He captained a college team that featured 2019 No.1 NBA draft pick Zion Williamson and gets tips from the likes of Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova but there was one big bump in Jack White’s journey to Melbourne United.

New Melbourne United recruit Jack White rode the wave with 2019 NBA No.1 draft pick Zion Williamson as teammates at Duke University. Picture: Getty Images

New Melbourne United recruit Jack White is used to unique situations.

The kid from Traralgon – who has signed a three-year deal – has spent the past four years at US college basketball giant Duke, riding an incredible wave with some of the sport’s biggest names, like 2019 NBA No.1 draft pick Zion Williamson and Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.

He’s honed his craft picking the brains of Aussie NBA talents like Joe Ingles and fellow country Victorian Matthew Dellavedova.

And he is great mates with Memphis Grizzlies guard Grayson Allen.

But none of that could have prepared him for two weeks in quarantine in a Sydney hotel.

With the college basketball season cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis sweeping the world — ending White’s amateur career after four years at Duke, two as captain under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski — he had to work out what his next move would be.

The familiarity of Melbourne United and the opportunity to come home made sense.

“I’d been fortunate enough to be able to train with them (United) when I came home in the college off-seasons, so my level of comfort with the club and the players and the existing relationships that I had with them contributed to the decision,” White told the Herald Sun.

“At the end of the day, I’m just a kid from Traralgon who loves to hoop. It’s pretty cool to think about where that’s taken me — around the basketball world, and now to be back in my home state playing with Melbourne. It’s kind of come around full circle.”

But returning to Australia from the US was not without its barriers.

For two weeks in June, the inside of a room in Sydney’s five-star The Intercontinental was home, a mandated quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was an experience…” White said.

“I tried to keep myself busy and get myself back in the right time zone in terms of my sleep schedule.

“I’d do a workout every day just in the room and then really, for the majority of the rest of the time, it was spent in front of the screen.

“The thing I missed most was breathing fresh air — I wasn’t allowed to leave the room.

“It gets old pretty quick. It was just me in there. I found myself trying to stay as in touch with the outside world as I could.

“I would play video games with my brother and talk to him or on Facetime with my girlfriend or my mates back in the states.

“I was just trying to feel connected. You go to sleep alone, you wake up alone, you don’t see anyone else in person, apart from a nurse every few days.”

White brings big game experience to United. Picture: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

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At 201cms and 101 kgs, getting enough nutrition into his athletic 22-year-old body — which was still being put through rigorous workouts in the confines of the room, thanks to a care package of resistance bands and other equipment from United’s high performance boss Nik Popovic — became an issue.

“The diet, it didn’t work out too great,” he lamented.

“I ordered some food from Woolies to have in the room to try to supplement the food that was getting delivered to the door, but I ended up losing a few kilograms.”

Back to full strength, White has had to relocate from the family home in Traralgon and is now living with a mate in Melbourne after Victoria re-enacted strict lockdown laws.

He’s now preparing for the NBL season, hoping he can bring success to United, but also with one eye on a bigger prize.

White is quick to respond when asked if he still harbours the NBA dream: “No question.”

The COVID-19 crisis, though, has thrown a curveball at every NBA hopeful, with the season only just about to restart. Normally, NBA teams would be holding workouts for prospective talent and preparing their Summer League squads a this time.

White confirmed he’d been in touch with a number of NBA teams — and there was interest.

“It’s definitely motivating to hear you’re on those types of radars and that my dream as a kid might not be as far-fetched as I once thought,” he said.

“I’ve just got to try to keep working hard and see what happens, control what I can control.”

And that’s enough for White — for now.

Originally published as NBL: Melbourne United signs Zion Williamson’s college captain Jack White