UNC Basketball: 2019 NBA Draft profile of Tar Heel guard Coby White
By Trevor Marks
NBA Comparisons
Jamal Murray, Eddie House, Patty Mills
Denver’s Jamal Murray uses silky smooth craft over sheer speed, but his usage in an offensive scheme is relatively similar to what we can expect from Coby White at the next level. Both aren’t pure lead guards (they were raised as shooting guards through high school), instead operating better as secondary creators whose primary responsibilities are scoring and shooting within the flow of an offense. Ideally, players like Murray play alongside bigger creators, such as Nikola Jokic — the same can be said for White, who would benefit from playing in a free-flowing system where he’s not relied upon solely as a primary playmaker (which may happen alongside Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton in Phoenix, or Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen in Chicago).
If White fails to reach his upside as a starter (which hinges on his ball-handling and vision as a playmaker), he could fall into a super-sixth man type of role as a bench spark plug, similar to the likes of San Antonio’s Patty Mills and NBA journeyman Eddie House. Mills carved out a key role as the Spurs backup point guard during their more recent span of contending seasons, excelling in an offense that utilized him primarily off-ball as a spot-up shooter, limiting his usage on-ball. House, more of an undersized two-guard, had himself a long and successful career as well, operating as a bench bucket-getter for several playoff teams over his 11-year career.
Both Mills and House stand at 6-1, much smaller than White at 6-5, but their offensive roles off the bench could be comparable to what White handles in the NBA if his lead-guard skills don’t come along. White’s ability to create for himself does separate himself from both backup guards, as does his size (which aids his defensive impact), which helps his case to become an even more impactful bench scorer if he ultimately heads down that career path. Given the value of backup guards who can score (and shoot it), that’s not a bad outcome, either.