UNC Basketball: Roy Williams praises Coby White

University of North Carolina head coach Roy Williams had some praise for talented freshman Coby White during the annual ACC media day

Coby White has only been on campus at the University of North Carolina for a few months but already he’s earning some praise from his head coach.

The Wilson, North Carolina native is one of three freshmen in UNC’s 2019 recruiting class and enters this upcoming season in a battle for the starting point guard position. White and junior Seventh Woods are battling for that starting spot and valuable playing time with UNC’s first unit.

After Woods struggled to grab a hold of the backup position in 2017-18 behind Joel Berry, the door is now open for White.  And even though the Tar Heels don’t open the season until November 6th, the point guard has received some praise from his head coach.

While at the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference media day on Wednesday, head coach Roy Williams was asked about his team and in specific White.

From there, Williams wasn’t hesitant to compliment the freshman and compare him to a UNC legend.

"“Coby probably pushes it as well as anybody I’ve had since Ty Lawson,” Williams said via Inside Carolina. “He just has to understand from top of the key to top of the key as fast as you can possibly go and when you get to the top of the key you’ve got to get it under control. He’s going to have some charging fouls this year, so he’s got to learn. I get mad at the blue team every day if he goes flying through there and they don’t take a charge because that’s their job to try and help him become a better player.”"

Hearing that is certainly good news for UNC fans as Williams loves to run a fast-paced offense with his Tar Heels teams.

If you look over the years, UNC has always had a point guard that could push the temp for the offense. Players like Ty Lawson, Raymond Felton, Marcus Paige, Kendall Marshall and even Joel Berry all suited that role.

Next up could be White and early on, you have to think he’s the favorite to grab that starting spot and fill that role.

White’s game took a big step forward during his senior year as he climbed the recruiting rankings with an impressive season at Greenfield High School. He’s a gifted scorer that can create fits for opposing defenses and he showed that last season.

With White as the point guard, Williams can really get his offense going how he wants too with that uptempo look.

White just might be what Williams needs to run this offense and lead this first unit with Cam Johnson, Kenny Williams and Luke Maye. We will certainly find out soon if he is, when the Tar Heels tipoff against Wofford in just under two weeks.

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