Randy White was a successful college basketball player that had an adventurous basketball career.

College Years

White played all four years of collegiate basketball at Louisiana Tech University. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tournament in two of his four years at the university. In his sophomore year, the Bulldogs made it as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest Region where they got bounced out of the first round by No. 3 seed DePaul. They would make the tournament again in his senior year but this time as the No. 9 seed in the Southeast Region where they would advance to the second round, before getting knocked out by the No. 1 seed Oklahoma.

White averaged 15.1 points per game (PPG), 8.3 rebounds per game (RPG), 0.6 assists per game (APG), and 0.9 steals per game (SPG) in his four years at Louisiana Tech. He garnered the nicknames Mailman II and Mailkid, due to the similar traits he had to Karl Malone. White won the American South Player of the Year in his senior year.

Welcome to the Dallas Mavericks

White was selected by the Dallas Mavericks 8th overall in the 1989 NBA Draft. In his first season, the power forward averaged 4.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.4 APG, and 0.4 SPG. He was mainly used as a bench piece as he only started in two out of the 55 games he played in his rookie season.

Finding His Role in Dallas

The following year all of his stats doubled as he got more playing time. White’s minutes nearly doubled as he went from playing 12.9 minutes per game (MPG) in his rookie season to 24.1 MPG the following year. He continued to mainly come off the bench as he started in 29 out of the 79 games he played in the season. He averaged 8.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.8 APG, and 1.0 SPG. He improved in every facet of the game as every stat went up.

His uphill trajectory was temporary as the following season his playing time and stats would decrease. White played in 65 games while starting in 12 of them and played 15.7 MPG. He still was able to exceed his rookie year numbers as he averaged 6.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.5 APG, and 0.5 RPG.

The following season White was able to improve his numbers as they all went back up. He started in 20 out of the 64 games he played in during the season. He scored 9.7 PPG, grabbed 5.8 RPG, with 0.8 APG, and 1.0 SPG while playing 22.4 MPG. He had another successful season after looking like things were going down.

His fifth year in the league would also be his final one. He missed a majority of the season due to knee problems. He started in 3 of his 18 games played in the season. White averaged 6.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 0.6 SPG while playing 17.8 MPG. His time in Dallas and the NBA would come to an end during the 1994 off-season when he was released by the Mavericks. 

White averaged 7.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 0.7 SPG. His role was mainly being a helpful big man off the bench that kept the tempo going while the starters got a chance to rest. The Mavericks decided it was time to move on from White and stuck with their other power forwards Popeye Jones, Doug Smith, and Terry Davis to continue into the next season. White showed spurts of success such as scoring a career-high 31 points against the Portland Trail Blazers during the 1992-1993 NBA season but was never able to consistently perform at that level coming off the bench.

Life After the NBA

White didn’t go far from a basketball court after finishing in the NBA. He traveled overseas and played in various international leagues. He played for Peristeri B.C., Aris B.C., and Near East B.C. in Greece, Pfizer Reggio Calabria in Italy, Joventut Badalona in Spain, Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, and CSKA Moscow in Russia. In 1996, he played for the Oklahoma City Cavalry in the Continental Basketball Association. White was a FIBA EuroStar in 1996, their version of an All-Star. He became a two-time Israeli League champion, winning it in 1997 and 1998. He also won the Israeli Cup in 1998. In 1999, White won the Russian Professional Basketball Championship.

Legacy

White was inducted into two Hall of Fames. In 2003, he was inducted into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was inducted into his alma mater’s Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame.

Most of White’s success came during his college years and his post-NBA years. Nevertheless, he was still able to make an impact in the NBA, helping the Mavericks in any way possible, whether it be a starter or off the bench. White is remembered best for his blue-collar personality and style of play along with the achievements he was able to accomplish during his basketball career.