When the 2002-03 preseason women’s basketball polls were released late last fall, Duke University was the consensus No. 1 pick.
Still, 6-foot-5 sophomore center Crystal White does not regret transferring from Durham, N.C., to become a member of the LSU women’s basketball team.
“It really didn’t bother me because I’ve moved on, I’m at LSU now,” White said. “I’m really focused on where we are. That’s something in the past. I respect where they are, but I respect where we are.”
Duke is currently No. 2 in the polls, while LSU is No. 4. Both may be on a crash course to meet in the Final Four.
While LSU has become White’s home, she said Duke just did not satisfy what she was looking for.
“It just wasn’t the right fit,” White said. “I wish them all the best. We just didn’t mesh well together.”
White played in 27 games for Duke in the 2000-01 season as a freshman. She averaged 3.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks in just 6.5 minutes in the final four games of the season. She also shot 54 percent from the field over that stretch.
The Mount Clemens, Mich., native also started briefly as a sophomore before leaving the team early in the season. White said the one-year break from basketball gave her time to learn while she practiced with the team.
“I take that as a blessing in disguise,” White said. “It was like a learning experience for me, coming to a new program and a new motion offense. Being able to practice helped me improve and get better on offense as well as on defense.”
White made her LSU debut against Southwest Texas State on December 21. She currently is averaging 3.5 points, 2.6 rebounds in 9.5 minutes of action per game. She also leads LSU in blocks with 32.
Head coach Sue Gunter said White will play an important part in the Lady Tigers future since forwards Ke-Ke Tardy, Aiysha Smith and center DeTrina White are all graduating.
“People ask us ‘What are you going to do next year when you don’t have this one or that one and you don’t have Aiysha, what are you going to do?,'” Gunter said. “We have Crystal White for two years. She’s going to be terrific. People are going to get their wish as we go into tournament play, she’s going to play more minutes.”
Gunter said White is starting to feel comfortable and her play is a reflection of this. An example of this was In Sunday’s contest versus No. 3 Tennessee when White rejected two consecutive shots by Lady Volunteer 6-foot-5 center Tye’sha Fluke. Her blocks got the 15,000-plus crowd energized.
“There are situations now where I think she is really comfortable to go into,” Gunter said. “When Fluker came in, it was time for her to come in and she did her job. That’s what I hope she’ll do the rest of this year.”
White said LSU was open and honest with her about the program and the campus. She said this made her decision of where to transfer a lot easy.
“They knew I had already been through the process of recruiting,” White said. “What you see is what you get. I really appreciate how they didn’t try to sell me on glitz and glamour like other schools. I like that they showed me reality.”
Gunter said in addition to getting stronger, White must improve in other areas.
“We need to work a little bit more on her shot,” Gunter said. “She needs to have a soft jump hook with either hand coming across the middle. Right now she’s got to be a little tougher in there because people are going to hammer at her.”
White was a successful high school basketball player. She was the Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year, in addition to a Nike All-American and an honorable mention member of the USA Today All-American team.