GSU signee White has breakout season at Centennial

By Michael Carvell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia State pulled off a major coup by wrapping up one of the state’s top high school basketball players before his breakout senior season.

Centennial High point guard DeVonta White signed with Georgia State in November’s early signing period and says he would do it all over again. However, if White were still a free agent, Georgia State would have competition from much bigger schools.

White has enjoyed a monster senior season, averaging 19 points and seven assists for Centennial, which is ranked No. 2 in Class AAAAA. Georgia State coach Rod Barnes sounded like a lottery winner when discussing his future floor leader.

“There’s no doubt about it ... if [White] was still available, we’d be in the fight for our lives for him,” Barnes acknowledged this week.

Why was White such a well-kept secret? Last season, he played in the shadows of Centennial teammate Lorenzo Brown, who was arguably the state’s second-best prospect after Derrick Favors. This year, Brown is the leading scorer at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and has signed with N.C. State.

“[White] has brought his game to another level with Lorenzo being gone,” Walton coach Joe Goydish said. “It has been DeVonta’s show to run, and he has done a great job doing that. He can score, he can defend … I’d consider him one of the state’s top 10 players.”

The 6-foot White turned heads after averaging 29 points and nine assists in Ohio’s “Flyin’ to the Hoop” Invitational, a showcase tournament for elite prospects and their teams. In Centennial’s first meeting against archrival Milton, White scored 20 points in the first half -- finishing with 33 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the loss.

“He has put our team on his back, whether it’s defense, scoring or passing,” Centennial coach Allen Whitehart said. “He’s really stepped up his game, and I think you could make a good case for him being one of the state’s top three to four players.”

White was selected as co-Region 6-AAAAA player of the year, along with Walton’s Ryan Harrow (N.C. State). The region is considered the state’s stongest, and is loaded with college prospects, including McDonald’s All-American Jelan Kendrick (Memphis) of Wheeler, who has signed with Memphis.

Georgia State began targeting White during his sophomore season. Said Whitehart, “They were always around. I always joked with Georgia State’s coaches that they might as well set up a bedroom in our gym. They made him a No. 1 priority and worked overtime to land him.”

White surprised the hometown school by committing after visiting the campus in October. He also was considering offers from Tulane, Appalachian State and UNC Greensboro.

“My mind-set with recruiting was that if [bigger] schools wanted me later on, then I was second option, or a backup plan,” White said. “With Georgia State, I was always their first option. That was important to me.”

His father, Walt White, coach of the Georgia Stars AAU team, approved of the college decision. “He’s a family guy. It’s a good school and an opportunity to stay home and play.”

Barnes praised his prized recruit for signing early. “It was a great thing, as it gave us the opportunity to recruit guys at other positions. It also showed other players and coaches around the city, ‘Hey, if a player of DeVonta’s caliber is going to Georgia State, there must be something great going on there. Maybe we should give them a look, too.’

“Whenever you’re building program, there’s always that one guy you need to come in and attract other guys. That’s the type of player we think DeVonta is. It took two full years of recruiting him to get it done, but it was well worth the effort.”