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Georgetown suffered its first defection in two-plus years today, announcing that rising junior forward Paul White will transfer. White's departure ends two up-and-down, injury-riddled years on the Hilltop.
White initially appeared to be a versatile offensive threat perfectly suited to John Thompson III's Princeton-based offense. The Chicago product earned immediate minutes as a freshman and provided much-needed shooting and passing in a sometimes stagnant half-court offense. Even after he declined in the latter half of his freshman year, White figured to start, or at least contribute significantly as a sophomore. However, he then missed nearly all of his last season with a hip injury. Georgetown suffered in his absence as Thompson plugged in guys who either weren't ready or weren't good enough to replace White. White played limited minutes in this summer's Kenner League but still did not appear to be at full strength. Today's news appears to confirm grumblings throughout last season that White was planning to transfer.
It's hard to say how much the Hoyas will miss White's on-court production going forward. For one thing, he still did not appear to be fully healthy this summer, calling into question his ability to contribute to the team in the coming season. Georgetown also appears to have a much deeper rotation than last season, losing one player while adding four (counting Akoy Agau), all of whom should be able to contribute immediately. Depending on whether JT3 prefers to go big or small (traditionally, the former), White's departure could free minutes for almost everyone on the roster.
Regardless, White is a good kid, and we wish him well.
Below is the school's full release.
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Georgetown University rising junior men’s basketball player Paul White (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) will transfer to another institution.
White appeared in seven games during the 2015-16 season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.6 rebounds. He had season-ending surgery in January.
He appeared in all 33 games as a freshman in 2014-15, averaging 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. In two years at Georgetown, he averaged 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 40 career games.