Ohio’s Mr. Basketball Colin White on his future with Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — With a number of players returning to the court at Ohio State next season, fans are looking forward to Jake Diebler’s first full season as coach of the men’s basketball program. But the future also includes a high school senior who is already looking forward to becoming a Buckeye.

For any high school basketball player, there’s no bigger stage than the state tournament. And Ottawa-Glandorf’s Collin White is just the second player in Ohio history to play in the state tournament all four years of high school. The first was Lebron James.

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“It means everything. I’ve been, fortunately, been here four straight years and I wouldn’t want to be any other place this weekend in March,” White said.

But White is preparing for the next level, getting ready to play for Ohio State and compete in the Big Ten.

“I’ve proven that over the years that I can play any style and play any place but I can really hammer down and be physical and get to the rim and just using my frame, you know,” White said. “My frame is only going to grow and get bigger.”

White committed to the Buckeyes last summer and was named this year’s Ohio Mr. Basketball as he eclipsed 2,000 points in the final game of his high school career, which happened to be a state semifinal against Harvest Prep.

“Colin is tough. He’s smart. He’s versatile. I think Colin has got a bright future here in this program and what I love about him most is he loves this place and I just think his high school career has been impressive,” Diebler said.

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White’s commitment to Ohio State remained the same through the program’s leadership change. If anything, the promotion of Diebler has only reinforced White’s commitment.

“I think [Diebler] has a lot of energy. You look at him on the sidelines and he’s ready to go all the time and just love how his communication fits so well with the players you know,” White said. “All the players love him, all the players trust him and that’s a great feeling as a player coming in and being recruited by him.”

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