Many Division III schools were sold on Isaiah White. A couple Division II programs were intrigued by the Centennial guard, too.
But it wasn't until the Eagles made a run to Xfinity Center that White got on the Division I radar, and it took another few weekends this spring on the Under Armour AAU circuit for the 6-foot-5, 175-pound senior to land that elusive DI offer. Earlier this week, White accepted UNC Asheville's scholarship.
"It's still like a wild feeling," White said Wednesday. "I'm always thinking about it; it's always on my mind. I don't think it really has set in yet."
Though White was off the radar for most of his high school career, Centennial coach Chad Hollwedel said it's been a natural progression for his star player and captain. White spent two years on the Eagles' JV squad, made varsity as a junior and took on a starring role as a senior. A first-team All-Howard County player and second-team Baltimore Sun All-Metro performer, White averaged 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Class 3A state champions.
"He literally works year round; there's no offseason for him," said Hollwedel, The Sun's All-Metro Coach of the Year. "He plays AAU and he also worked out individually as well as playing in leagues in the offseason. He was a busy guy. I'm glad to see him get the reward he really put in."
Before Centennial's run to the state championship, DIII schools like Albright, Bethany, Salisbury and York were among the most interested parties. White played for a Howard County AAU team called the Sharks, so he got very little exposure in the offseason. Scoring a game-high 18 in Centennial's title-game win over Westlake, however, changed things a bit.
"Rider gave me a call after Xfinity," he said. "They wanted me in the class of 2016 with my young age (17) and lack of physical development. A lot of people were trying to get me to go to prep. I could've possibly gone to a prep school."
But White decided instead to take another run on the AAU circuit. Corey McCrae from the D.C. Blue Devils staff saw White at Xfinity and offered him a spot on the team for the spring session of the Under Armour Association. Suddenly, White was playing in front of 20-plus DI coaches per game.
"Wherever you go you can find talent. But on the Under Armour circuit, everybody is a good player," White said. "Every team had several if not more than half of their guys with Division I capabilities or potential. … It was a transition because I can honestly say the level of completion on the circuit is a lot harder than the level of competition in any high school league. So it was a little different. I had to change my game."
White said Loyola, Western Kentucky, Brown and St. Peters were among the DI programs to express interest. Asheville, however, pushed the hardest. A visit to the Big South school's picturesque campus, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, quickly won White over.
"The campus is very, very beautiful. It's totally different from here," said White, who plans to double-major in business and English. "Once I got on campus I knew that was the school for me. It just clicked right away."
White, will play the 2 and possibly some 1 at Asheville, said the coaching staff told him that he "hasn't even scratched the surface" of his potential. He's still growing and still developing, but plans are in place for him to see minutes as a freshman.
"I'm just so happy," White said. "I thank God every morning. Even when things weren't going my way, I just prayed. It trickled down to the wire. I can take a deep breath. I'm very anxious, very excited, nervous because it's a big step that you cannot go back on. [But] I know I made the right decision."
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