Prospect Spotlight: Larry White (2018)
TOPEKA, Kan. — A rising player in the Class of 2018, wing Larry White brought an all-around game to the court this past season for Highland Park and has already provided a spark for Kansas Pray N Play, a grassroots team that is set to begin play on the Adidas Gauntlet after winning the Route 66 Kick Off in Oklahoma City last weekend.
An athletic 6’5 forward, White is a strong defender and versatile offensive player who impacts the game with his aggressive play.
” I try to bring everything I can in my mind I want to be dominate at everything so whenever I’m off at certain thing I can always still impact the game,” he said.
White says the season at Highland Park didn’t go as expected as the team entered the 2016-17 season with high expectations. Still, he averaged 12.6 points per game, led the team with 36 blocked shots and was named a Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
A fan of LeBron James, White says he wants to expand his game to become a dominate all-around player.
“I want to be able to do multiple things and Lebron is a key example because he could be off but will dominate on defense and swing the ball and get people open so that’s what I want to do with my game,” White said.
White says his parents, Tony Barksdale, Jeremy Cunningham and Tobian Thomas and Jameel Anderson have been the biggest influence on his basketball career.
“They pushed me to max when I was younger and they where just people I looked up to and when they talked to me it would just put a fire in me to work harder and they really helped my game a lot.”
White says playing with Kansas Pray N Play this spring has been a new experience. Already the squad has notched a big win under its belt, winning the Route 66 Kick Off last weekend in Oklahoma City.
“It’s been pretty good I’m not used to being in front of lots of people and coaches because
I used to only play in Kansas City and Wichita so I really never traveled to play and just playing all over showing people I can play is a blessing and I’m glad to be apart of the team,” White said.
White said he is spending the offseason working on becoming a better leader and as well as improving his outside shot and ball handling.
He currently does not hold any offers, but has taken an unofficial visit to Tulsa and had heard from Nebraska and was slated to go SMU for a workout last summer.