Boys Player of the Year: Ottawa-Glandorf’s White gains elite status

OTTAWA – Before the high flying dunks, before going to the state basketball tournament his first three years in high school, before the first-team all-state honors the last two years, before he played on elite AAU teams, some people around Ottawa and Glandorf knew Colin White had a special kind of athletic talent.

How soon was that apparent?

“Early. In the first or second grade,” Ottawa-Glandorf boys basketball coach Tyson McGlaughlin said.

“He and my nephew, Caden Erford, those guys have been together since I can remember. I remember watching them in a baseball game and seeing him running around the bases and thinking ‘He does things different.’ Just from those strides around the bases I thought, ‘That kid is going to be a pretty good athlete.’ ”

White, a 6-6 junior, averaged 20.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game for the Division III state runner-up Titans this season. He set a school record with 44 points against St. Marys.

He has 1,329 points in his career and if he averages 20 points a game again next year he would break Tim Pollitz’s O-G record of 1,693 points sometime around the eighteenth or nineteenth game of the season.

White has attracted interest from NCAA Division I schools close to home, like Cincinnati, and farther away like West Virginia and Virginia Tech, among many others.

He said last week it will be a while until he chooses which school will get him.

“I’ll probably wait until after the summer for sure, I can tell you that. Definitely after the summer,” he said.

White already made a different kind of tough decision when he decided not to play football last fall. He was a wide receiver and safety on the Titans’ football team his first two years in high school.

That decision allowed him to improve his basketball skills and his continued development was apparent this season.

“I thought I proved that I can play with the best. I’ve always believed that. But I thought I proved I can really compete and I thought I proved that my outside shot really improved this year,” White said.

“The things I can improve on now are just working on the little things and all the basic things in my game and really honing in on my skills,” he said.

McGlaughlin said, “I think the big thing was until this year he had just jumped from sport to sport. He just relied on his athleticism to create separation and things like that. But this offseason he made a decision not to play football and that was something that was really, really tough on him because he loved to play football.

“I think for him to play at the next level and play at a high level he knew he needed to improve,” he said.

After Ottawa-Glandorf’s state championship game against Cleveland Lutheran East, McGlaughlin said, “Colin is maybe the most talented kid to ever come through Putnam County and you’d never know it just talking to him. He’s humble, he’s hard working and he’s a leader.”

Later that day White showed what McGlaughlin was talking about when he sent this message on Twitter: “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted but a huge thanks to the community for showing out every game. It was a great season with great coaches and teammates.”

White said, “I just wanted to get that out there that I was so proud of our community and our team and the year we had. I credit everyone around here. They really make you the player you are, especially your teammates and coaches and the community. You want to put on a show for them.”

The other members of The Lima News boys basketball Dream Team are: Cameron Elwer (Delphos St. John’s), Gavin Etzler (Crestview), Josh Henline (Spencerville), Theo Maag (Ottawa-Glandorf), Austin Miller (Shawnee), Anthony Mosley (Lima Senior), Austin Parks (St. Marys), Aidan Pratt (Van Wert) and Kellen Schlagbaum (Ottoville).

More coverage

Girls Player of the Year: Elida’s Freeman shows leadership by example

Boys Coach of the Year: Winning the norm at Ottawa-Glandorf with McGlaughlin at the helm

Girls Coach of the Year: Longevity pays off at Leipsic for Kreinbrink

Meet the Boys Dream Team

Cameron Elwer

Delphos St. John’s

6-0, Fr.

21.9

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Gavin Etzler

Crestview

6-3, Sr.

10.2

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Josh Henline

Spencerville

6-2, Sr.

16.2

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Theo Maag

Ottawa-Glandorf

6-7, Sr.

12.0

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Austin Miller

Shawnee

6-4, Sr.

14.3

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Anthony Mosley

Lima Senior

6-4, Sr.

10.2

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Austin Parks

St. Marys

6-11, Sr.

21.8

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Aidan Pratt

Van Wert

6-4, Sr.

20.6

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Kellen Schlagbaum

Ottoville

6-1, Sr.

14.3

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Colin White

Ottawa-Glandorf

6-6, Jr.

20.1

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Honorable mention

Caden Erford (Ottawa-Glandorf), Hunter Stechschulte (Ottawa-Glandorf), Jace Turner (St. Marys), Zac Niekamp (Wapakoneta), Beckett Bertke (Shawnee), Evan Angstmann (St. Marys), Drake Craddock (Bath), Zori Island (Elida), Brandon Moore (Lima Senior), Carson Parker (Lima Central Catholic), Dylan Smith (Spencerville), Trent Teman (Delphos Jefferson), Wren Sheets (Crestview), Nate Lichtle (Crestview), Keaton Lehman (Allen East), Carson Clum (Allen East), Marek Donaldson (Bluffton), Wade Ginther (Bluffton), Trenton Barraza (Columbus Grove), Jarron Swick (Fort Jennings), Jaden Smith (Kalida), Evan Stechschulte (Kalida), Aiden Harris (Pandora-Gilboa), Colin Harris (Pandora-Gilboa), Konner Knipp Williams (Continental), Paul Maag (Leipsic), Carter Horstman (Ottoville), Drew Stephens (Upper Scioto Valley), Ayden Simpson (Perry), Landon Callahan (Temple Christian), Alex Sanders (Upper Scioto Valley), Maddox Underwood (Upper Scioto Valley), Landen Grothaus (Delphos St. John’s), Luke Schwieterman (Coldwater), Tate Hess (Marion Local), Jack Knapke (Marion Local), Jadyn Mescher (Marion Local), Kole Richard (Minster), Aaron Thieman (New Bremen), Luke Beyke (St. Henry), Evan Bowers (St. Henry)

Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414.

Jim Naveau
Jim Naveau has covered local and high school sports for The Lima News since 1978 and Ohio State football since 1992. His OSU coverage appears in more than 30 newspapers. Naveau, a Miami University graduate, also worked at the Greenville Advocate and the Piqua Daily Call. He has seen every boys state basketball tournament since 1977. Reach him at [email protected] or 567-242-0414.