2016 Point Guard Maliek White to Visit Providence

With Quentin Jackson cutting Providence from his list on Wednesday it didn’t take long for some good news to be reported in the search for a point guard in the class of 2016. Adam Finkelstein reported on Twitter that Maliek White will visit Providence on October 2nd. White is the grassroots teammate of another Providence target visiting that same weekend in power forward JJ Matthews. The program that both White and Matthews play for is the Richmond, VA-based River City Reign.

White is currently ranked 192nd in the class by 247sports.com’s composite national ranking but that number is undervalued. He plays at George Wythe high school and led the Bulldogs to the Virginia 3A State Championship — the first team state championship in school history. White scored a career-high 36 points in that state title game and it’s that kind of winner’s mentality that consistently comes up when you read about or talk to people about Maliek White. He was 11/16 from the field, including an impressive 6/10 from beyond the arc. White has also scheduled official visits to Pittsburgh (9/19) and Cincinnati (9/26).

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White — along with Matthews — is another Jeff Battle recruit. Battle was also the lead on Quentin Jackson. The loss of Bob Simon certainly has caused some concern among fans in Friartown but in following Battle’s recruits since he was hired by Ed Cooley it’s clear that Battle has a type of player he likes and plenty of connections in the mid-Atlantic region from his years at Wake Forest.

White was the 3A State Player of the Year, Conference 26 Player of the Year, the MVP of the State Tournament, First Team All-Metro, Virginia Preps First Team All-State and State Player of the Year. In addition to offers from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Providence White also holds offers from schools like Boston College, Temple, UMass and VCU.

Rob Harrington of Scout.com says “White stands out immediately on the basis of his explosive quickness and speed. He’s a devastating transition player because he can get ahead of the field and score himself or make a slick pass to a teammate. He applies constant pressure due to his ability to go rim to rim at a breakneck pace.” White’s coach Chris Herron with the River City Reign described White as “a very tough, gritty kid who doesn’t back down from any situation.” Herron continued, “he’s shown the ability to run a team and really started to develop into a leader and a true point guard.”

In terms of Providence chances with White I would keep an eye mostly on the Pittsburgh visit. If he makes it home from that without committing and gets onto Providence’s campus as scheduled I like Providence’s chances. Cincinnati is also going to get a visit from Quentin Jackson so that could be a situation where Mick Cronin is looking to take whoever commits first. Matthews recently told me that he and White have discussed the possibility of playing together in college. “We discuss it quite often,” Matthews told pcbb1917.com. “It’s not a definite but it’s been put into consideration.”

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