UNC Basketball: Coby White returns to Chapel Hill for pickup game

Former UNC basketball standout Coby White was back in Chapel Hill this week for a pickup game with current Tar Heels.

It’s an age-old tradition at the University of North Carolina for former basketball players to return to campus to practice and play pickup games with current players.

Having just finished his second season with the Chicago Bulls and getting several months off before next season begins, Coby White took his place among former UNC greats to return to the hardwood at the Dean Smith Center to practice with the Tar Heels. That included UNC senior guard/forward Leaky Black, who was a teammate of White’s at North Carolina during the 2018-19 season.

White was sporting a red NBA-branded shirt and a pair of black McDonald’s All-American shorts — ones that he earned as a senior at Greenfield School the year prior to his arrival at North Carolina. It was the first time we’ve spotted White in public since cutting off his trademark locks in favor of a nice short haircut that he introduced to us via Instagram last week.

The former Tar Heel is coming off a season with the Bulls in which he averaged 15.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game — all career-highs. He also improved his accuracy at the free throw line by 11 percent in year two, connecting on better than 90 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe. He started 54 of 69 games this season, and logged better than 31 minutes per night.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see White back in Chapel Hill more this summer, along with a number of other Tar Heels currently playing in the professional ranks, as well as ones that are already basking in the glory of retirement.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on Coby White, and the UNC basketball program.