MERIDEN — When Jai White was in the gym last winter with the Hanover High boys basketball team, odds were he was the only player on either team who could throw down a dunk. Take the Marauders’ NHIAA Division II opening-round tournament game last season as an example.
On the first inbound play of the second half, White rolled to the basket and caught a lob pass in the air for an alley-oop. He finished the game with a career-high 25 points as Hanover cruised to a 76-45 victory over Kearsarge.
The play was one that Hanover coach Tim Winslow called a handful of times last year. He won’t be able to this season, however, since White has transferred down the road to Kimball Union Academy, where he is repeating his sophomore year.
“He’s going to do very well long term,” Winslow said at a Hanover practice last week. “I think this year will be a challenge for him because it’s going to be a big jump for him (in competition). He works really hard on his game, and he’s passionate.”
KUA offered the opportunity to stay close to family, while putting a bigger emphasis on the development of his basketball career. The son of former Georgetown University and Washington Wizards center Jahidi White, he’s only 16 years old and was the youngest member on the 2019-20 Hanover team, so the reclassification gives him time to grow physically.
White averaged more than 12 points per contest a season ago, starting nearly every game as the Marauders’ forward. He now joins a team that features players getting some serious looks to play NCAA Division I college basketball, but White’s 6-foot-5 stature won’t do much in the post compared to his time at the NHIAA level.
That’s why KUA coach Cory McClure has dedicated time to make White’s perimeter skills stronger. He already has a skill set that allows him to drive to the basket, so strengthening his jumper and 3-point shot will be important.
McClure said White’s already started to make progress thanks to the way KUA and NEPSAC schools are approaching sports. The Wildcats were allowed in the gym for practices starting in August and even played some scrimmages before students were sent home in late November.
“Nobody benefited more from that period than Jai,” said McClure, who is in his second season at KUA. “That’s a kid who was making a huge transition from where he was coming from. If he’s going to make the jump to the college level, he’s gotta be a 6-5 perimeter player, not a 6-5 post player.
“What I remain committed to is he’s not going to develop if he’s not playing, so he’s going to play every game, but whether he plays 15 minutes or 35 minutes depends on how much he develops. The big thing for him is going to be on the defensive end, especially for a kid who has never had to truly get out and move his feet on the perimeter.”
White was in the weight room with a strength and conditioning coach every day before practice, and he then headed to the gym to grow acquainted to new teammates earlier than a usual season.
KUA switched to remote learning for the majority of December; students are scheduled to return to campus on Jan. 10. The plan is to start practicing immediately and begin testing for COVID-19 on a weekly basis, with games slated to begin Jan. 29. The Wildcats are set to open the season at Holderness.
The New Hampshire NEPSAC teams are playing roughly 15 games on Fridays and Saturdays through the end of March, using a back-to-back format for contact-tracing purposes.
“Reclassifying definitely was a no-brainer for me,” White said. “It was tough going away from home, though. I missed my family a lot; all my friends from Hanover. It definitely built character (having to stay on campus and not go home).”
He isn’t the only player who has departed Hanover for the prep school scene, as shooting guard Hank Pikus is now a junior at Milton Academy in Massachusetts.
White said he still thinks about the way last year ended. After the Kearsarge game, the NHIAA shut down the remainder of the winter sports postseason because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Marauders were given a share of second place along with five other teams.
As for the dunking, White admitted that he will definitely not be the only player on his team who can get up to the rim this winter.
“There’s a kid who can windmill,” he joked. “My main goal right now with basketball is to just keep grinding. If I earn a Division I scholarship, that’s great. But I want to earn some more D-I scholarships after I earn my first.”
Pete Nakos can be reached at pnakos@vnews.com.