Joseph Henry White (November 16, 1946 - January 16, 2018) is an American professional basketball player. As an amateur, he played basketball at the University of Kansas and represented the US men's basketball team during the 1968 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he was renowned for his ten-year stint with the Boston Celtics of the NBA, where he led the team towards two NBA championships and set a record 488 consecutive game franchise playable. White was sworn in to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Video Jo Jo White
Early life and amateur career
White was born in St. Petersburg. Louis, Missouri, son of a Baptist minister, George L. White Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth Rebecca Guynn. As the youngest of seven brothers, he has three older sisters; Shirley, Adlean, and Irene, and three older brothers, George, Dewitt, and Ronald. He started playing basketball at six and found the sport to be the main platform for his community. As a child, he follows St. Louis Hawks.
Higher Education
Due to his age, White qualifies for college early college basketball at the University of Kansas, and team captain Riney Lochmann leads a vote to determine that White will be welcomed by the players.
White joined the team in mid-season, enjoyed immediate success, and entered the NCAA Tournament. They play dominant but face the physical squad of West Texas, now known as the University of Texas in El Paso, in the Midwest regional finals. During the first overtime, White picked up and made a shot (35-foot runner) when the bell sounded, but he was ruled out by referee Rudy Marich. The team lost this thriller in the second overtime to West Texas, who later won the championship. The game against Texas Western is featured in the 2006 film Glory Road, which is about the West Texas team of 1966.
White became the team leader, and made a consensus of the NCAA All-American Second Team in 1968 and 1969. He made the All-Big Eight team the following three years (1967-1969) Due to early enrollment, White only had one feasibility semester and Chief Coach Ted Owens opting to play White for 18 games in the first half rather than eight in the second. He graduated with a degree in physical education.
Olympics
After college, White played on the 1968 United States Olympic basketball team in Mexico City, Mexico. The team is not expected to win a gold medal because many future Basketball Hall of Fame players refuse to participate (eg Lew Alcindor, Elvin Hayes) or unselected (eg Pete Maravich, Calvin Murphy, Dan Issel). The US Olympic Basketball Committee limits the four listings of the NCAA, two from the AAU, three from the Armed Forces, one from Junior College (Spencer Haywood), and two to NAIA. The US men's team, led by White and Haywood suddenly unbeaten (9-0), beat Yugoslavia 65-50 in the title game. White describes his reaction:
Going to our Olympics is not an incredible favorite to win a gold medal. We are not even considered the strongest team in the tournament. The billing was sent to Russia, which was attacked by Yugoslavia in the semi-finals. But we are a stronger team, and I think that's what sets us apart.
This victory is the last in seven consecutive gold medals for the men's team of the United States.
Maps Jo Jo White
Professional career
After the Olympics, White was drafted in 1969 in the first round (9 overall pick) by the Boston Celtics NBA, who at the time had just won their 11th championship in 13 years. There was some reluctance during the draft time because White had a mandatory two-year military commitment. Then Boston's general manager, Red Auerbach, was able to shorten White's commitment and allow him to participate in the 1969-70 NBA season. He then stated that his brief assignment helped him prepare for his first Celtics training camp,
I am a marine, so I have gone through all the physical and mental challenges that come with military training. Plus, I am in great shape because of my military obligations, so I feel this gives me an added advantage.
White is also designed by the Dallas Cowboys.
However, before White was even reported to the training camp, the Celtics center and coach-player Bill Russell announced his resignation and terminated ties with the organization. The longtime Celtic shooter, Sam Jones, also ended his career, requiring White to replace the tasks. With the sudden departure of Russell and Jones, White experienced a rebuilding season in which the franchise experienced their first season losing (34-48) since 1950, the year before Red Auerbach was hired. White made the All-NBA rookie team during the 1970 season.
The Celtics are back on track by drawing up Dave Cowens, trading in Paul Silas, retaining veteran John Havlicek, and hiring coach Tommy Heinsohn. With White leading the attack from the point guard position, the team returned to the path of victory in 1971. He was an All-Star for seven consecutive years from 1971 to 1977, finishing in the top ten in the league in assists from 1973-1977. In 1972, he took part in the now-defunct 16-man NBA One-on-One tournament where he reached the championship (which took place during the Game 5 break of the Final) and faced Detroit's 6'11 "Piston Bob Lanier, who using his eight-inch high advantage to win a $ 15,000 prize.
In 1974, White and Celtics reached the 1974 NBA Finals. They faced the Milwaukee Bucks who returned with their core championship winners from the 1971 NBA Finals, including future Hall of Fame members Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. With the Bucks' starting point keeper, Lucius Allen, injured at the start of the playoffs, White leads, a quick-sized quick-sized show, the All-Star Cowens at the center, to the first Celtics championship in the Post-Russell era. The following season, White led the Celtics in minutes in a season where they finished 1st in the NBA Atlantic Division with a 60-22 record but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 1976, White was part of the Celtics dominant squad featuring 5 veterans on average double-digit scoring. During the playoffs, White led the Celtics to the NBA championship and was a starring player in what is often referred to as "the greatest game ever played" in NBA history. In a triple overtime victory against the Phoenix Suns in game 5 of the final, White was the top scorer with 33 points, had a high game of 9 assists, leading the Celtics to a 128-126 victory. Logging 60 minutes of playing time, only Suns' Garfield Heard (61) played more minutes. White was named the most valuable player in the 1976 NBA Finals.
White went on to become one of the first professional basketball men, playing in all 82 games for five consecutive seasons during the 1970s and setting a 488 consecutive 488 game franchise record. White suffered an injury during the 1977-78 season. With the end of the row, the aging White and Celtics became a less effective squad and followed their championship by breaking out of the playoff semifinals in 1977 and then two losing seasons.
Unable to retain his all-star form after injury, White was traded by the Celtics to the Golden State Warriors in the middle of the 1978-79 NBA season. The Boston Globe writer Bob Ryan describes the tension that led to White trading from Boston.
... being Celtic, and, in particular, being part of the Celtic mystique, is very meaningful to Jo Jo White. In fact, being part of the Celtics family and being able to enter and exchange jokes with Red Auerbach and be able to identify themselves as "Celtic" may be more meaningful to Jo Jo White than Celtic in the modern (ie -Russell post) era. The circumstances dictated that he was leaving, but leaving Boston far from without pain.
White retired as a player after 1981 with Kansas City Kings. He returned to Jayhawks as an assistant coach from 1982-1983. In 1987 at the age of 41, White sought to return professionally as a player-assistant coach with Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association.
Legacy
On Friday, April 9, 1982, the number 10 was hanged from the rafters at Boston Garden. He is in the top 100 in the NBA for a total career goal created, field goals tried, help, free throw percentage, minutes per game, and defensive ratings. He became the Second Team All-NBA in the 1974-75 and 1976-77 NBA seasons. White is the director of special projects and public relations with the Celtics at the time of his death.
In 1991 White was greeted at the Missouri Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. His shirt was retired by the Kansas Jayhawks in 2003. He was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 2009. He also joined the 2013 class from St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
White was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class in September, 2015. He was inducted alongside his former coach, Tom Heinsohn, and was officially introduced to the Hall by fellow Celtics John Havlicek and Dave Cowens.
Prior to induction in 2015, White's long exclusions from the Basketball Hall of Fame were a common topic when discussing long-eligible players but not yet inaugurated, with most authors believing their entries had long been delayed. A writer in 2012 goes as far as to declare Jo Jo White Threshold as a marker of the feasibility of life among future candidates.
Personal life
Family
White was born with six older brothers and sisters. She has been married twice, both to Deborah White and earlier to Estelle Bowser. Retired Major League Baseball player Chris Chambliss is a cousin of White. In 1985, White moved to Rochester, NY where he owned and operated several McDonald's restaurants until the early 1990s. In 2009, White and his wife opened a restaurant, Jojo West, in Maynard, Massachusetts, which declared bankruptcy and closed in 2010 on criminal charges and litigation against restaurant partner Chris Barnes.
In media
White appeared in two films with a small role: the 1980's
In 2010, White underwent a procedure to remove the tumor at the back of her brain. To help her recovery, her lawyer brings up memories from White and writes the next biography of Make it Count released in 2012. Then-Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers commented:
When you see it several times, you are very worried. But we jokingly say that JoJo can make you sick. He's really cool and a great man.
In September 2012, White started the Jo Jo White Foundation to provide support for brain cancer research. He also previously led the Jo Jo White Growth League to children in high school starting in 1994.
Death
White died in Boston on January 16, 2018, due to complications of dementia, particularly pneumonia, which occurs when benign brain tumors are removed. The Boston Celtics honor his death with a black line sewn to their shirts for the rest of the 2017-18 season.
Career statistics
College career
Karier NBA
Musim reguler
Playoffs
References
Bibliography
- Bodanza, Mark C. (2012). Calculate Count: The Life and Time of Great JoJo White Basketball . iUniverse. ISBN: 978-1-9389-0845-3. Ã,
External links
- Jo Jo White Official Website
- Career and player information statistics from Basketball-Reference.com
- NBA.com profile
- Jo Jo White in IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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