Coby White Giving Back, Sharing Message at Basketball Camp

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — For the second year in a row, former Tar Heel guard Coby White sponsored a youth basketball camp in the Dean E. Smith Center for students in the first through sixth grades. 

White partnered with ProCamps and Simple Truth to put on the event for 150 kids from the local area. It was a three-hour workout, with a large portion dedicated to campers developing their fundamentals at several different stations while White walked around to talk with them and help instruct. Midway through, several kids were selected for a one-on-one shooting competition against the former Tar Heel.

“I really enjoy it, being around the kids, obviously giving back to the community here, especially in eastern North Carolina, where I’m from,” White told Inside Carolina on Sunday. “I always enjoy these type of events, to get to connect with the kids, see the kids. It’s not every day they get a chance to be around a player that’s in the NBA.”

More About the Camp

Although the primary focus of the camp was for basketball development, White hoped that campers walk away with the belief that his journey to the NBA isn’t as impossible as others might think. 

It stems from one of the hard lessons he learned while playing at UNC under head coach Roy Williams. He recalled a preseason practice where Williams halted training to chew out an 18-year-old White for what he said felt like 15 minutes. The head coach got on to him about slacking off, and emphasized how good he could be in his career if he put in the effort. 

It was Williams’ phrase, “the great ones do it every day,” that has stuck with White throughout his playing career. He hopes kids from the camp will take away the same lesson, without the in-your-face hollering and embarrassment it took for him to realize hard work and commitment is all it takes to be great.

“I’m from Goldsboro, North Carolina, small town cities where (the campers) are from as well,” said White, whose freshman year success at UNC in 2018-29 turned him into a one-and-done college story. “So anything is possible if you believe in it, chase your dreams and give your whole heart to whatever you’re chasing.”

Career Update and Playing Focus

This coming NBA season will be White’s seventh in the league, and the final year of his three-year contract with the Chicago Bulls. White has been with the Bulls since 2019, where he was selected as the seventh overall pick in his draft class. 

As point guard for Chicago, White led the team in scoring this past season with 20.4 points per game to go along with 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Over the past two seasons, White has started all but two games and has solidified his role as one of the Bulls’ franchise players. 

The 6-foot-5 guard will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this coming season, and is eligible for up to a four-year, $89 million dollar contract next offseason. Until then, White’s goals on the court have not changed, as he hopes to help Chicago secure its first playoff series victory in over 11 seasons. 

“How can I lead my team to more wins? How can we get over this hump of being in the play-in to transform into a playoff team?” White said when asked about his goals for this season. “I’m still only 25 but I’m reaching that vet status. So for me it’s, how can I become a better leader? How can I become a better teammate? And obviously still working on my craft to become a better player. But how can I continue to lead my team to victories and help us in any way that I can to get over that hump.”