Future Watch: Coby White Rookie Basketball Cards, Bulls

by | Feb 19, 2020 | Future Watch, Future Watch - Basketball

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Future Watch: Coby White Rookie Basketball Cards, Bulls – Jacoby “Coby” White was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 2000. He played high school ball at the Greenfield School in Wilson, NC. In four years at Greenfield he scored 3,573 points to beome the all-time leading scorer in North Carolina high school basketball history. White finished his senior season earning North Carolina Mr. Basketball honors as well as 2018 North Carolina Player of the Year by USA Today. Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN all rated White as a five-star college recruit. He would elect to stay close to home and play for the University of North Carolina.

In the summer between high school and college, White earned a spot on the United States U18 National team. At the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in Canada he was the team’s top scorer and helped lead the US to a Gold medal. He would also earn all-tournament honors.

White hit the ground running for UNC. He started at the point in his debut game against Wofford and recorded eight points with three assists in a 78-67 victory. Later in the season in a 93-85 victory over Syracuse, White scored a career-high 34 points. A week later he would pass Michael Jordan on UNC’s all-time freshman scoring list with 469 points. White would also break the freshman three-point shooting record with 82 made threes over the course of the season.

In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Coby White and the number one seeded Tar Heels made it to the Sweet 16 but were upset by the five seed Auburn Tigers. Shortly after the conclusion of the tournament, White announced his intention to forego his final three years of college eligibility and declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. He would leave school earning Second-team All-ACC honors.

Over 35 games for the Tar Heels, White averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals over 28.5 minutes per game. Surrounded by seniors, White started in every game as a freshman and led an up-tempo offense with his aggressive instincts as a scorer. Over the course of the season he grew as a passer but still looked to get his shot up first. At the combine, he measured 6’4.75” in shoes which is solid for a point guard, but his 6’5” wingspan didn’t jump off the page to many evaluators. White’s best traits heading into the draft were his speed, motor and scoring.

On draft night, the Chicago Bulls selected Coby White in the first round with the seventh overall pick. He became the first player from North Carolina to be drafted in the first round by Chicago since Michael Jordan in 1984. At the 2019 NBA Summer League, White played in five games and averaged 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He made his NBA debut in Chicago’s season opener against the Charlotte Hornets and scored 17 points with seven assists in a 126-125 loss.

Among his rookie peers, Coby White is currently 12th overall in scoring with 11.1 points per game, seventh in assists with 2.4 and third in total three-point makes with 98. On the Bulls, he’s fifth in scoring and fourth in assists. With Kris Dunn being shut down for the remainder of the season, White’s minutes should be trending upward in March and April.

Check out some of Coby White’s rookie year highlights:

The Bulls are sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with a 19-36 record, five games out of the eighth seed. It has been an incredibly rough decade for the Bulls who have one of the worst player development programs in the league. Their last draft pick to find prolonged success was Jimmy Butler in 2011 and he took it on himself to become the All-Star that he is today. Coby White is no Jimmy Butler, but he has a collection of skills that the Bulls haven’t seen in quite awhile from a rookie.

These next two months will be crucial for Coby White’s development. Collectors should hope the team asks him to take on more offensive usage in a starter’s role and he finishes the season with some strong offensive performances. Currently, his Silver Prizms can be found in the $20-$40 range. There’s room for growth with that price, but there are some variables to consider. White’s path to NBA stardom isn’t as clear as the rest of his peers. He will need to take it upon himself to rise above Chicago’s less than stellar player development program to become the team’s first All-Star since Jimmy Butler in 2017.

Still, there is a lot to like about Coby White’s game, especially his scoring. Keep an eye on his rookie cards as the regular season draws to a close and look to make moves during the summer when the market on 2019-20 rookies has started to cool down.

Collectors looking for cards of Coby White in his North Carolina Tar Heels uniform can find them in Panini’s 2019 Collegiate Basketball programs including Contenders Draft Picks and Prizm Draft Picks. As a top-10 pick, expect to find Coby White included in all of Panini’s 2019-20 NBA Basketball Programs including Contenders, Crown Royale, Hoops and the upcoming Court Kings.

Future Watch: Coby White Rookie Basketball Cards, Bulls – Stats

Totals Table
Season Age Tm Lg Pos G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% eFG% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
2019-20 19 CHI NBA SG 55 0 1337 223 602 .370 98 290 .338 125 312 .401 .452 68 91 .747 25 167 192 132 41 4 80 91 612
Career NBA 55 0 1337 223 602 .370 98 290 .338 125 312 .401 .452 68 91 .747 25 167 192 132 41 4 80 91 612
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/19/2020.

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James Gale
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