UNC Basketball: Breakdown of Coby White’s Summer League rookie debut

Bottom Line

Rookie point guards inevitably struggle, and it’s unwise to expect them to put up great performances in their very first stint of action at the Las Vegas Summer League. UNC’s Coby White had his moments on Friday night, but ultimately, the rookie Bull provided viewers with an uninspiring stat line and even more uninspiring watch, with the 19-year-old making mental errors as a decision-maker and missing shot after shot, whether he was smothered by the Laker defense or left completely open.

We’re not going to overreact to just one game, especially not White’s first 31 minutes as an NBA player. Shooting is tied to volatility, and hot and cold streaks affect every single player — we won’t worry too much over the makes and misses, but they still matter.

It will be interesting to see how White performs over the team’s remaining Summer League schedule. One promising aspect of his rookie debut, both in terms of his usage in Vegas and during the regular season, is how Chicago schemed for him: He wasn’t used exclusively on-ball, instead taking turns bringing the ball up and running the offense in a similar role that he had at UNC. Fellow ball-handlers Shaq Harrison, Walter Lemon Jr., and Adam Mokoka all took turns manning the “point,” with White getting a fair share of action off of the ball.

This is encouraging for his projection onto the main Bulls roster, since White doesn’t look to be a full-time lead guard. With playmakers in Zach LaVine, Otto Porter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., Chicago’s starting lineup (which he is inevitably going to crack into at some point as a rookie) has no shortage of players who are capable of alleviating his offensive playmaking load. All of them, with the exception of LaVine, are capable passers, which should limit White’s on-ball responsibilities.

Another takeaway that bodes well for Coby White is Chicago’s heavy usage of screen actions. Given that White isn’t an explosive athlete or downhill driver, using screens to give him separation and momentum in the halfcourt is vital to his success as a scorer. Roy Williams rarely utilized ball screens for White as a ball-handler at UNC, despite the freshman guard doing well as a scorer and great as a passer out of the pick-and-roll, but it looks like Jim Boylen has different plans for the 6-foot-5 White.

Friday night saw White numerous run pick-and-rolls with both Gafford (who played extremely well as a simple dive-man and rim-runner, to the tune of 21 points and 10 rebounds on 9-of-10 shooting) and Holmes, in addition to handoffs with screening big men. On both sets, White was given additional room to operate, aiding him as a driver and pull-up shooter.

After such a disastrous first-year season as a head coach for Boylen, it’s strange to picture him maximizing his players, but if Friday was a truthful indicator, White may actually be used well after all. Screen actions with Markkanen and Carter, both of which are competent shooters who can fire away over defenders or make plays as passers, with the threat of White’s pull-up shooting and slashing, will simply be difficult to defend if they’re fully realized in the NBA.

Overall, Coby White’s rookie debut in Las Vegas was underwhelming, with flashes of good and bad. The quick burst, crafty shot creation and burgeoning pick-and-roll passing were on display in small doses, but for those who doubted his decision-making and ability to play the point, Friday night’s performance wasn’t unexpected. Missed reads, fumbled dribbles, poor decision-making, predetermined reads (as he seems to switch between scoring and passing modes), and streaky shooting ultimately sank what looked to be a promising rookie debut after the first few minutes of action.

Again, none of this was new.

Overreacting to one bad outing would be silly — yet, White still showed the NBA what he needed to improve. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses with time.

Carving out a career as a scoring guard in the NBA is no small task — UNC’s Coby White may have to learn that the hard way.