Coby White: Five Things To Know About North Carolina's Stellar Freshman

Coby White has become a star over the last few months for North Carolina. The freshman point guard has developed into a national sensation with his slick play, fantastic hair and pink shoes. If you’re just finally getting on the Coby White train, here are five things you should know about him.

His hair is mesmerizing

White’s hair is his most identifiable trait. It bounces, flops and and streaks with him as he moves around the court. But the beautiful mess on his head almost went away. After Christmas break, White decided to braid his hair because his mom and sister told him to fix it. They weren’t fans.

Thankfully that didn’t last long and he went back to the unleashed look.

He’s sticking with the pink shoes

White — like some other players in the 2019 NCAA Tournament — is wearing pink shoes. Well, he and the rest of the Tar Heels wore pink Jordan brand sneakers for their January 21 matchup with Virginia Tech. The options were the CP3.XI or the Air Jordan XXXIII. The shoes were part of a partnership with the NABC to raise funds to fight cancer, while also promoting the American Cancer Society.

White went for 27 points in that game, which was a career-high at that point. He decided to stick with the shoes. There is another reason too (see below).

He was a top recruit

No one should be particularly surprised by White’s emergence. After all, he was a top recruit; the 6’5″ combo guard was coveted by virtually every top program in the country.

White was a consensus five-star prospect and a McDonald’s All-American during his time at the Greenfield School in Wilson, North Carolina. He was also the 25th ranked player in the 2018 recruiting class according to the 247 Composite.

On top of all that, he was named North Carolina’s Mr. Basketball during his senior year of high school and helped lead Team USA to the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in Canada. He was named to the all-tournament team at that event.

He’s had an outstanding freshman season

White has been incredible for North Carolina this season. He’s started all 34 games he’s played in, averaging 16.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per contest. He’s also hitting 36.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and 79.5 percent of his free throws.

He was named second-team All-ACC for his efforts on the year.

He’s playing for his dad

White’s father passed away in August of 2017 after a battle with liver cancer. White’s mother claims her son misses his dad every day and thinks of him when he plays basketball. The young man believes his dad is still with him when he’s on the court.

The pink shoes White wears also honor his late father’s battle with cancer.