Friday, February 24, 2012

Believing in Iowa State's Royce White

Iowa State’s Royce White has been featured in this space before. I mentioned how many people were impressed with the 6-8, 270-pound sophomore. I said I enjoyed his game too but I guess I wasn’t completely sold.

Well, I am warming steadily to the believer category.

The more I watch this guy, the more I like. What impresses me the most is his passing ability. It is a thing of beauty and some real art. He gets the ball where his teammates need it and makes it real easy for them in the process. The guy leads the team in an assists with a walloping 140. The next guy totals 64. But to be fair, White also leads the team with 112 turnovers. It’s called taking the good with the bad.

White is actually dominating Iowa State’s statistics. He is first in points (12.9 per game), rebounds (9.1), blocked shots (28) and steals (31--tied). He may also sweep the floor between games.

But the glaring weakness in his game besides the turnovers continues at the free throw line. White is only averaging 48.5 percent. When he misses he misses by plenty. He often throws up air balls. It is still painful to watch.

Iowa State has some good role players but this is definitely White’s team. He makes his teammates better and they look to him to make plays. The Cyclones wouldn’t have a record of 20-8 and knocking on the NCAA tournament door without White.

White continues to improve his game. Iowa State fans can probably thank him all the way to the NCAA tournament.

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