Ottawa-Glandorf’s Colin White brings down a slam dunk against Lutheran East during last year’s Division III state championship game at University of Dayton Arena. The Titans, who’ve lost in the state championship game the last two years, have high hopes for the senior year of the Ohio State-bound White.
OTTAWA — Every day, Colin White thinks about winning a state championship for Ottawa-Glandorf.
That’s no exaggeration, he said. It’s just a fact.
“I think about it every day. I wake up thinking about it, and I go to sleep and think about it,” the 6-foot-6 basketball star said. “We’ve been so close the last couple of years, but close isn’t close enough. So we just fight for it every day.”
The Titans bring back the Ohio State-bound White for his senior season. He averaged 20.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game last year, when Ottawa-Glandorf finished its year with a 25-4 record but fell six points short of winning the Division III state championship game against Cleveland Heights Lutheran East.
That followed a three-point loss in the championship game during White’s sophomore season and a six-point loss in the state semifinals his freshman year.
The weight of the expectations at Ottawa-Glandorf could be a burden for some high school boys basketball teams, but not for the Titans, coach Tyson McGlaughlin said. O-G has been to the state basketball tournament 10 times, with championships in 2013, 2008 and 2004.
“We always talk about, ‘Embrace the bull’s-eye,’” McGlaughlin said. “That’s something that’s always been kind of our motto here. We understand the expectations are high, and that’s a good thing.”
Those expectations swirl around White, a generational talent who excited area basketball fans since his freshman year. He has 1,331 career points, fifth all-time for the Titans and within range of Tim Pollitz’s school record of 1,693 points.
White was a first-team all-Ohio player the last two seasons, the 2022-23 Lima News Dream Team Player of the Year and the player of the year in the Western Buckeye League. Schools across the country recruited him, but his final five schools had been Butler, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Northwestern and Texas Christian University before officially signing with the Buckeyes earlier this month.
He’s also a gifted student, making the 4.0 honor roll and the National Honor Society at Ottawa-Glandorf.
“You’ve got a guy like Colin, you’ve got to make the most of it,” McGlaughlin said. “You know, it’s not just Colin. We have a lot of seniors who are back and have played a lot of basketball together and have dreamt about this for a long time.”
The Titans also have seniors Caden Erford (6-4, forward), Alex Wagner (6-foot-2, guard), Connor Kitchen (6-1, forward) and Dave Westrick (6-foot-7, forward) back for this run. Erford and White are the only two starters back from last year’s state championship game, though.
The Titans open the season at home Friday against Tiffin Calvert, who finished last season 19-5.
The challenge is to constantly get better, White said. He said he looked forward to becoming a mentor to younger players on this year’s team. You can see it in the Titans’ high-intensity practices, which mimic the frantic pace of the team’s style, running the ball up and down the court while maintaining a physical intensity.
McGlaughlin said he pushes his coachable senior star, putting him in positions where he may feel uncomfortable, saying “he knows it’s coming from a good place.” White reacted positively to the tough-love coaching.
“My shooting’s been improving year by year,” White said. “The more reps, obviously the better you’re going to shoot. Then it’s just being more physical too. I get guarded a certain way in high school basketball, where it’s tough. So it’s just being super physical and getting to my spots and knocking down shots.”
The Titans continue to compete in the difficult Western Buckeye League, with a tough nonconference schedule as well that includes the likes of Findlay, Lexington, Lima Central Catholic and Lima Senior.
All of those external stresses aren’t that important to White and the Titans, he said. It’s about achieving their own goals and savoring his senior year now that the college recruitment process is done.
“It’s just kind of a stress-free year,” White said. “I’m focusing on me and my teammates and really honing in on going down to state and then raising that gold trophy.”
Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
