Charting the Gators -- Michael White (the player) vs. Florida
Tuesday, May 12, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
CHARTING THE GATORS
(Charting Michael White, the player, actually)
In 1994, Ole Miss signed a stocky, feisty point guard from New Orleans named Michael White. He was 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and had the mentality of a defensive back (sometimes a linebacker). A month into his Rebels career, White was starting for Coach Rob Evans and went on to start 109 of his 117 career games, score 597 points, dish 370 assists, grab 222 rebounds and make 76 3-point shots. He also helped Ole Miss to back-to-back Southeastern Conference West Division titles and reach the NCAA Tournament in 1997, '98 and '99 after making the field just once in school history.
Along the way, White faced Florida five times and won three of those games. He was 3-0 against Billy Donovan, the coach he officially replaced Monday.
“That would surprise me, if that's true,” White said Monday.
Oh, it's true. We checked to be sure.
Hardcore SEC fans may remember White.
For the rest, here's a history lesson of his games against the Gators.
Jan. 20, 1996 (Oxford, Miss.)
Florida 59, Ole Miss 55
Recap: The Gators went to the “Tad Pad” in Coach Lon Kruger's final season and won behind senior forward Brian Thompson's 14 points and nine rebounds, both career highs. White, a freshman, finished with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting to go with three assists.
March 7, 1996 (New Orleans)
Florida 75, Ole Miss 62
Recap: In opening-round play of the SEC Tournament -- not far from where White was a standout prep player, Jesuit High, which also produced Will Clark, Rusty Staub and Harry Connick Jr. -- the Gators got 22 points and five assists from senior guard Greg Williams and earned the right to bludgeoned in the tournament quarterfinals by eventual national champion Kentucky. White had seven points, but was just 1-for-7 from the floor, with three assists. A week later, Kruger bolted Florida to become head coach at Illinois.
Feb. 23, 1997 (Gainesville, Fla.)
Ole Miss 67, Florida 65
Recap: Guard Joezon Darby hit a 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds left that completed a big comeback for the Rebels and clinched their first West Division crown. The Gators, playing with just six scholarship players in Donovan's first season, blew an eight-point lead in the final 12 minutes, with guard Keith Carter (17 points) doing most of the damage. UF guard Eddie Shannon's runner to tie the game with six seconds to go rimmed out. White had four points, four assists and two rebounds in a game attended by just 5,833 at the O'Connell Center.
Jan. 7, 1998 (Oxford, Miss)
Ole Miss 90, Florida 79
Recap: White's statistical line wasn't very impressive -- 3 points, 2 assists, 4 fouls -- but it was his defense on Gators star guard Jason Williams that helped fuel the win for the 14th-ranked ranked and surging Rebels. In 23 minutes, White chased and harassed Williams, who came into the game as the SEC's leading scorer (18.1 ppg) and assist man (7.0 pg) into 6-for-19 shooting from the floor. Though Williams finished with 17 points, he was just 1-for-8 in the first half, two assists and five turnovers. Jason Smith led the Rebels with 20 points and seven steals, as Ole Miss improved to 11-1 for the first time since 1936-37.
Feb. 6, 1999
Ole Miss 79, Florida 68 (Gainesville, Fla.)
Recap: This time, it was the Gators who were surging in Year 3 under Donovan. Winners of 12 straight home games and two days removed from a stunning home upset of defending national champion Kentucky, the Rebels came to town and doused the red-hot Gators behind 20 points from Carter and forward Marcus Hicks. The Gators got off to a slow start for a variety of reasons: forward Brent Wright arrived to the game late due to a funeral; assistant coach Anthony Grant did not come to the game due to a family emergency; forward Mike Miller and guard Kenyan Weaks combined for five first-half minutes due to foul trouble; Donovan was hit with a technical foul when in protesting a call he stepped onto the floor and was barreled over by official Doug Shows, sending both to the floor. “I tried to get in his way,” Donovan said afterward. “[And then] went after him after that pretty good.” The game marked the first time since 1987 UF played before back-to-back home crowds of 12,000-plus at the O'Connell Center. As for White, he went 2-for-2 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the free-throw line for 9 points to go with four assists, three rebounds, two steals and just one turnover.
