Coby is not Kobe!
Lower the expectations on Coby White
With the 2019 Summer League in our rear view mirrors we now got a better glimpse of Coby White’s playing style with some of his new teammates since his one-year stunt with the University of North Carolina.
While White was selected seventh overall by the Bulls, based on the hype, many feel obligated to say that he is the immediate answer to the Bulls’ positional need at point guard and playoff absences. He shows a lot of potential. However, this rationality needs to cease.
During Coby White’s Summer League debut, he was able to garner a lot of “oooohh’s and ahhhhhh’s,” but he will seriously need time to develop in order to live up to the hype as the starting point guard. The game of basketball is not made up of only a few highlight plays but over a long course of stretches.
White plays a vehement style of basketball where he pushes the ball up the floor quickly on each rip which is congruent to how the Bulls organization wants its young core to run and he always looks to score when the ball is in his hands. This summer league he was able to score, averaging 15.0 points a game which stands out on paper, but in contrast he shot despicably at 10% from 3-point range and merely 33.7% from the field. These are not the type of averages you look for in a score-first point guard, but it is too early to completely fault him for this.
White also was very haphazard with the ball in his hands averaging 3.8 turnover’s a game. Some of the turnovers he committed reveal that he is still adjusting to the pace, and that may just be a part of the learning curve for him. Other than a few good passes in transition, some drive and kicks in mid-air, and the monster alley-oop that he threw to Daniel Gafford, White has some work to do in protecting the ball and setting up teammates.
White’s fulsome behind the back dribble crossovers and dazzling passes in transition look nice and certainly make him standout. When he handles the ball, at times, he looks very fluid and under control, and he drives with impressive agility, finesse, and swagger. These are qualities that the Bulls more than likely favored in him when they drafted him. These flashes that he conveyed are what many are thriving upon and are hoping that these plays will become a norm for him.
On the defensive side, there isn’t too much to complain about for White. He does what he has to do as far as closing out, staying in front of guards, and switching. One thing I noticed and liked is that he tried to be vocal on both ends, which is something a point guard should do.
The point guard position is the toughest to transition to at the next level because it requires more IQ and experience than any other position on the floor. Point guards need to be vocal, lead teammates, and control the tempo. They also should know the playbook better than any player on the team and basically manage the game on the floor. This is a lot to ask of a 19-year-old stepping fresh into a new locker room. I can’t imagine the Bulls letting him drive the boat this early unless they are satisfied with another 50 or 60 loss season.
The Bulls hedged their risk with White by picking up Tomas Satoransky a nice sized 6-foot-7, pass-first point guard, and they still have Kris Dunn who Jim Boylen has acclaimed weeks ago to be the starter this upcoming season, so White won’t have to be thrown into the wolves just yet.
Personally, I think we can expect to see him play around 15 or more minutes a game, and they will keep the training wheels on him and put him in more manageable lineups and situations until he blossoms into that player we expect him to be. But for now, don’t bet on White being the unanimous Rookie of the Year this upcoming season.
