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PHILADELPHIA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – In Virginia’s biggest game of the season, to date, against Duke in the ACC championship last week, Jacari White was nowhere to be found.
Metaphorically speaking.
In reality, the transfer sharpshooter was seated on the Cavaliers’ bench, playing just 10 minutes in the game, only two in the second half.
“It bothered me a little bit,” White said Friday, after leading third-seeded UVA to a surprisingly tight win over 14-seed Wright State, 82-73. “But, you know, coaches, they talked with me and emphasized my importance to this team and they realize they’re going to need me in the tournament. I took pride in that.”
In the team’s 82-73 NCAA first-round win over the 13th-seeded Raiders, White scored a season-high 26 points in 25 minutes. He went 10 for 12 from the floor and 6 for 8 from 3.
“What was impressive is when they pushed out on him, he was able to get by, made some terrific layups, some nice shots off the back board,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, whose team faces UVA and White on Sunday in the second round. “So, it presents a challenge, and we like our individual defense. We think we have guys who can guard the ball, but we have never asked a guy to guard anyone of that caliber one-on-one. It has to be a team defense and we have to have that again tomorrow.”
That all-around offensive impact has been something White has increasingly shown in the second half of the season.
At North Dakota State, White made his mark at the 3-point line. And, for the most part, that’s been his role at UVA. He’s taken 150 of 200 shots coming from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers are 8-1 when he hits at least three 3-pointers in a game. In a win over Dayton in December in Charlotte, White went 7 for 7 from 3-point range.
But White’s ability to put the ball on the deck and drive to the rim, his speed and athleticism running the floor in transition and his length and leaping ability crashing the glass have been more and more evident as Virginia made its march toward March.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Florida native said UVA’s staff has told him to be ready to attack when defenders push out to guard him closely on the perimeter and even instructed him to use his eyes to sell his intention to pull up and shoot.
“The coaches have been telling me, you know, put my eyes on the rim and make the defense jump out more,” White said.
After the last Duke game, those same coaches had full confidence that White would shake off his lack of playing time and be productive in the NCAAs.
That’s the way he’s embraced his role coming off the Cavaliers’ bench all season, even turning down a chance to start on Senior Night for fear it might disrupt the team’s rhythm and chemistry.
White, freshman guard Chance Mallory and shot-blocking center Ugo Onyenso have led a UVA bench that’s given the Cavaliers a major advantage over the season. Virginia’s bench has outscored the opponent’s subs in 31 of the 35 games it’s played this year.
UVA is 28-3 when its bench wins the scoring battle, 2-2 when it doesn’t.
White has come off the bench in all 30 games he’s played. He missed five games in late December and early January after fracturing his wrist on a dunk against Maryland on Dec. 20.
“I think just because he’s been through so much in his life,” UVA coach Ryan Odom said. “He’s always been a fighter. He’s always figured things out. He has supreme confidence in his ability to play.”
He showed that, again, against Wright State and, if Virginia’s going to make its third Sweet 16 in the last 10 years, he may need to do it again against the Volunteers.
“He’s a spark plug,” guard Malik Thomas. “He can hit some tough shots and he can really get hot at any given moment.”