There's no denying North Carolina freshman point guard Coby White can score.
The Greensboro, N.C., native broke the high school state record, previously held by JamesOn Curry, by scoring 3,573 career points, earning himself Mr. Basketball honors and a spot in the McDonald's All-American Game. The five-star recruit committed to North Carolina and started from Day 1. On March 5, in a 13-point win over Boston College, White passed Michael Jordan on the all-time North Carolina freshman scoring list. He finished the season averaging 16.1 points for the Tar Heels' top 10 offense.
White can score in his sleep. But when asked Thursday at the NBA Draft Combine if he considers himself a point guard, a shooting guard or a combo guard, White's reply was quick and succinct.
"I'm a point guard," he said.
White's scoring and shooting abilities won't vanish but it's clear his focus as he heads into pre-draft workouts is honing in his point guard skills, specifically in the halfcourt, to make him a more complete player.
He's likely also aware of just how important point guards are at the position these days. Consider that in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the top 30 leading scorers in each season included 12, 8 and 10 point guards. That was an incredible jump from just a decade earlier, when 3, 2 and 3 point guards were included in the top 30 leading scorers in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Point guards have won each of the last four MVPs and a total of seven point guards have been taken in the top 5 of the last three drafts combined.
But as important as scoring has become at the position - just ask the Bulls, whose starters the last three seasons have averaged 10.1 points on 40% shooting - teams still need point guards who can distribute and work within the flow of the offense in halfcourt sets.
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The Tar Heels were the seventh fastest team in the country last season - and tops among Power 5 conferences - and White was the engine that made Carolina's outstanding transition game run. But he didn't find as much success when the game slowed down. On 154 pick-and-roll actions, White's 0.756 points per possession ranked in just the 52nd percentile nationally. For comparison's sake, Murray State's Ja Morant averaged 0.776 points per possession on a whopping 254 possessions.
But that's the beauty of the pre-draft process. Whereas White didn't play much in pick and roll at North Carolina, it's something he hopes to show teams he's capable of during individual workouts. When asked what teams don't know about him that they'll find out in the next month, White said "my reads on the court in pick and roll, because at Carolina we didn't run too much of stuff like that."
If he's able to improve as a primary ball handler in the halfcourt, the rest of his game will take care of itself. Though he only shot 42% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc, he's a more-than-capable perimeter shooter who, like many prospects, will find the spacing of the NBA to his liking. He also shot well on pull-up jumpers and used his speed to get to spots.
He shot 67 percent at the rim, and while a good chunk of that came in transition he was able to use his 6-foot-5, 194-pound frame to get to the rim and finish through contact. His 3.7 free throw attempts were solid and he attempted six or more free throws on nine different occasions on a North Carolina team that spread out its offense on a nightly basis.
Speed kills, and White brings plenty of it. He's probably the fastest on-court prospect in this year's class and would do wonders for a Bulls offense that ranked near the bottom of the NBA in pace, transition attempts and transition points per game. He'll need to take care of the ball better - his 19.1 turnover percentage in transition is a concern - but remember, he was an 18-year-old scoring guard tasked with running North Carolina's offense. Not an easy task for a freshman, no matter how easy his rival up the road in Zion Williamson made it look.
"Definitely using my change of speed," White answered when asked about what teams are looking for from him. "I’ve been working on that a lot in workouts lately in the past month. Definitely using my change of speed, use my speed to my advantage. You know, just letting the game come to me, slow it down for me."
White has been mocked to the Bulls in the majority of reputable mock drafts posted following Tuesday's wild NBA Draft Lottery, and for good reason. They have an obvious need at point guard and it's likely that Ja Morant and Darius Garland will be off the board when the Bulls pick at No. 7 - Morant is a near-lock to go No. 2 to the Grizzlies, while Garland feels like a fit for the Lakers at No. 4 or the Suns at No. 6.
While he has labeled himself as a point guard, his ability to shoot would give the Bulls a combo guard at the point guard position for the first time since Nate Robinson and D.J. Augustin years ago. Derrick Rose was a career 30.2% 3-point shooter in Chicago, and Bulls starters the last three seasons have shot 30.5% from beyond the arc. They're in desperate need of an offensive threat at the position, and White would fill that vacancy.
He'd make an offense that has pieces and showed potential in a red-hot February much better, and without many expectations - and a potential veteran point guard coming in to mentor him if the Bulls address that in free agency - he could work on becoming more of a true point guard while maintaining his scoring prowess.
He could follow the career trajectory of Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray, who was also labeled as a combo guard coming out of Kentucky in 2016. In three seasons in Denver, Murray's assist totals have risen from 2.1 to 3.4 to 4.8. That's not to suggest White will have the same career as Murray, who at 21 appears to be a budding All-Star, but Murray has transformed into a player capable of running the point while also maintaining a high scoring average.
As a freshman at Kentucky, Murray ran just 54 pick-and-roll actions and is now one of the best in the game working in a two-man game with All-Star center Nikola Jokic. White could be thrown into a similar situation, working in tandem with last year's rookie Wendell Carter Jr. to initiate the Bulls offense.
He's a work in progress. Most 18-year-olds not named Zion are. But White checks boxes for the Bulls and will certainly be in consideration when they go on the clock at No. 7 on June 20. He told reporters on Thursday that he's hearing the 5-9 range for where he may be selected. That lines up with the Bulls, too, and VP John Paxson's comments that the Bulls may consider need over best player available at this point in their rebuild.
"Wherever I land, hopefully I’ll be able to make a major impact," White said. "The league is full of great point guards every night. I’m looking forward to the challenge and testing myself."