Jahlil White finds his rhythm in Owls' win over VCU
In Jahlil White’s second game back from a knee injury, the sophomore guard had 10 points in Saturday’s 83-73 win over VCU Saturday at the Liacouras Center, the Owls’ third win in a row that put them over the .500 mark for the first time this season.
For a Temple team that talked openly about its NCAA Tournament aspirations during the preseason, the Owls have still been a team that is very much figuring out how to blend together its various pieces and lineups, and White is a microcosm of that.
A former starter and last year’s Big 5 Rookie of the Year, the 6-foot-7 Wildwood Catholic High School graduate fouled out in two of Temple’s first three games and scored just seven points in the first six games he played, missing the Richmond and Drexel contests with knee soreness.
Coming off the bench for the second consecutive game, White had a much-needed offensive resurgence to help Temple beat a pretty good VCU team that was playing at full strength with Ace Baldwin, one of the top guards in the Atlantic 10.
“I just feel like I put so much time in the summer,” White said postgame. “This is the time for it to show. So that’s all it is, just repetitions and working at it.”
White began the year in the starting lineup with leading scorer Khalif Battle coming off the bench, but Battle moved to the starting lineup when White got injured during the Empire Classic, and he stayed there and scored a game-high 27 points in a full 40 minutes Saturday.
Coming off the bench, White said, was initially a bit of an adjustment, but he thrived in the role Saturday.
“My first game back against La Salle, it was definitely a change of rhythm,” White admitted. “It was hard to get myself going coming off the bench. And then I really adjusted to it and I found out how to come off the bench and just bring energy and just play hard.”
Despite coming off the bench, White still logged 33 minutes Saturday. In addition to his 10 points, he also had four rebounds, two assists and a block and also made all four of his free throws - a plus considering he shot just 53.3 percent (48 of 90) from the line last season.
No matter the production White gives Temple on the offensive end, it really is a bonus if he plays well there, as he is still considered to be the team’s most valued defensive player.
Before the injury, White was tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best player. Battle guarded VCU’s Baldwin for much of Saturday, but White will still be needed in the future at that end of the floor.
“He’s settling in,” Temple head coach Aaron McKie said postgame. “I thought early on, he was trying to do too much, trying to prove too much. And we need him to just defend and rebound and anchor that defense, and that’s going to keep him on the floor. And everything else will just naturally happen for him, as it did today.”